[Recurring loss of conciousness with middle brain symptoms in migraine].

A 49-year-old woman subject to frequent migraine attacks since childhood was seen for repeated episodes of confusion followed by loss of consciousness lasting for several hours. EEG during the acute stages showed marked slowing with bifrontal monorhythmic delta waves. After each episode, both the clinical and EEG findings subsided within hours. A similar course is described in a man who died at the age of 69 after preterminal mental deterioration. Autopsy showed evidence of bilateral damage to the hippocampal regions, apparently due to frequent impairment of perfusion in the last years of life. Atherosclerotic changes were within the normal range for his age. In both cases, the ischemic episodes are interpreted as consequences of constriction of the basilar artery, and it is assumed that the underlying mechanism is at least akin to that of migraine.