Calderón-González R
Centro Neurológico para Niños y Adolescentes, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.
Bol Med Hosp Infant Mex. 1990 Jun;47(6):363-8.
Migraine is a common disorder in children with a prevalence of 2.5% under seven years of age, 5% in those between the ages of seven and puberty and in postpuberal females it may be as prevalent as 10%. It is transmitted as an autosomally dominant trait and is frequently caused by precipitating factors. The vascular theory which stated that the aura was due to an intracranial vessel constriction and that the headache was due to an extracranial vasodilation has now be questioned due to new clinical and experimental data. Recently it is believed to be due to an unstable inherited serotonigenic neurotransmission which favors an increase in the frequency of neuronal discharge of the mid-brain raphe. Included is a classification and the diagnostic headache criteria used by the International Headache Society (1988). Treatment for migraine can be: a) abortive and b) preventive. Propranolol at a dosage of 2 mg/kg per day taken divided into three has shown to be the most beneficial in the prevention of migraine headaches. Certain calcium channel blockers, particularly flunarizine seem to have prophylactic value.
