Basilar artery migraine. Reversible ischemia demonstrated by Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT.

The authors present a case of basilar artery migraine in a 33-year-old woman who was initially misdiagnosed as having a cerebrovascular or mental disorder and subjected to MRI and cerebral angiography, which, however, did not show any pathologic findings. During admission to the university hospital, she lost consciousness. An emergency Tc-99m HMPAO brain SPECT showed a significant decrease of regional cerebral blood flow in the right temporal and occipital cortices, and right cerebellar hemisphere, where regional cerebral blood flow was decreased by 10-24% as compared to the left side. The second brain SPECT during a symptom-free phase showed the reversion of regional cerebral blood flow to normal in these areas. Basilar artery migraine was diagnosed by the finding of reversible ischemia in the territory of the right basilar artery on brain SPECT images and the clinical picture.