Basilar artery migraine. A review of 30 cases.

Thirty patients with basilar artery migraine were followed up for a period of six months to three years. The mean age of onset was 7 years. The patients were seen with recurrent transient attacks of neurological disturbances localized to the vertebrobasilar arterial tree. Attacks often included pulsatile cephalagia. A history of migraine was present in 86% of the families studied. The majority of family members with migraine were female and on the maternal side. Permanent neurological residua developed in only one patient. There was a tendency for attacks to be more severe with an older age of onset. Basilar artery migraine is a migraine variant that may affect children from late infancy through adolescence.