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Vestibular migraine (VM) is an increasingly recognized pathology yet remains as an underdiagnosed cause of vestibular disorders. While current diagnostic criteria are codified in the 2012 Barany Society document and included in the third edition of the international classification of headache disorders, the pathophysiology of this disorder is still elusive. The Association for Migraine Disorders hosted a multidisciplinary, international expert workshop in October 2020 and identified seven current care gaps that the scientific community needs to resolve, including a better understanding of the range of symptoms and phenotypes of VM, the lack of a diagnostic marker, a better understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms, as well as the lack of clear recommendations for interventions (nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic) and finally, the need for specific outcome measures that will guide clinicians as well as research into the efficacy of interventions. The expert group issued several recommendations to address those areas including establishing a global VM registry, creating an improved diagnostic algorithm using available vestibular tests as well as others that are in development, conducting appropriate trials of high quality to validate current clinically available treatment and fostering collaborative efforts to elucidate the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying VM, specifically the role of the trigemino-vascular pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents diagnostic criteria for vestibular migraine, jointly formulated by the Committee for Classification of Vestibular Disorders of the Bárány Society and the Migraine Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society (IHS). It contains a literature update while the original criteria from 2012 were left unchanged. The classification defines vestibular migraine and probable vestibular migraine. Vestibular migraine was included in the appendix of the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3, 2013 and 2018) as a first step for new entities, in accordance with the usual IHS procedures. Probable vestibular migraine may be included in a later version of the ICHD, when further evidence has accumulated. The diagnosis of vestibular migraine is based on recurrent vestibular symptoms, a history of migraine, a temporal association between vestibular symptoms and migraine symptoms and exclusion of other causes of vestibular symptoms. Symptoms that qualify for a diagnosis of vestibular migraine include various types of vertigo as well as head motion-induced dizziness with nausea. Symptoms must be of moderate or severe intensity. Duration of acute episodes is limited to a window of between 5 minutes and 72 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies focused on the role of vitamin D (vitD) in pain chronification. This study focused on vitD level and pain chronification and extension in headache disorders. Eighty patients with primary headache underwent neurological examination, laboratory exams, including serum calcifediol 25(OH)D, and headache features assessment along with three questionnaires investigating depression, anxiety, and allodynia. The 86.8% of the population had migraine (48% episodic and 52% chronic). The 44.1% of patients had extracranial pain, and 47.6% suffered from allodynia. A vitD deficit, namely a serum 25(OH)D level <20 ng/ml, was detectable in 46.1% of the patients, and it occurred more frequently (p = 0.009) in patients suffering from chronic migraine (CM)–medication overuse migraine (MOH) (62.9%) than in episodic migraine (EM, 25.7%) or tension-type headache (TTH, 11.4%). The occurrence of extracranial pain and allodynia was higher in the CM-MOH than in the EM and in the TTH groups but was not related to the co-occurrence of vitD deficiency (Fisher's exact test p = 0.11 and p = 0.32, respectively). Our findings show that 25(OH)D deficit is also related to chronic headache, probably because of vitD anti-inflammatory and tolerogenic properties, reinforcing the idea of a neuroinflammatory mechanism underpinning migraine chronification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vestibular migraine (VM) is a relatively recently acknowledged vestibular syndrome with a very relevant prevalence of about 10% among patients complaining of vertigo. The diagnostic criteria for VM have been recently published by the Bárány Society, and they are now included in the latest version of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, yet there is no instrumental test that supports the diagnosis of VM. Objective: In the hypothesis that the integration of different vestibular stimuli is functionally impaired in VM, we tested whether the combination of abrupt vestibular stimuli and full-field, moving visual stimuli would challenge vestibular migraine patients more than controls and other non-vestibular migraineurs. Methods: In three clinical centers, we compared the performance in the functional head impulse test (fHIT) without and with an optokinetic stimulus rotating in the frontal plane in a group of 44 controls (Ctrl), a group of 42 patients with migraine (not vestibular migraine, MnoV), a group of 39 patients with vestibular migraine (VM) and a group of 15 patients with vestibular neuritis (VN). Results: The optokinetic stimulation reduced the percentage of correct answers (%CA) in all groups, and in about 33% of the patients with migraine, in as many as 87% of VM patients and 60% of VN patients, this reduction was larger than expected from controls' data. Conclusions: The comparison of the fHIT results without and with optokinetic stimulation unveils a functional vestibular impairment in VM that is not as large as the one detectable in VN, and that, in contrast with all the other patient groups, mainly impairs the capability to integrate different vestibular stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents diagnostic criteria for vestibular migraine, jointly formulated by the Committee for Classification of Vestibular Disorders of the Bárány Society and the Migraine Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The classification includes vestibular migraine and probable vestibular migraine. Vestibular migraine will appear in an appendix of the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) as a first step for new entities, in accordance with the usual IHS procedures. Probable vestibular migraine may be included in a later version of the ICHD, when further evidence has been accumulated. The diagnosis of vestibular migraine is based on recurrent vestibular symptoms, a history of migraine, a temporal association between vestibular symptoms and migraine symptoms and exclusion of other causes of vestibular symptoms. Symptoms that qualify for a diagnosis of vestibular migraine include various types of vertigo as well as head motion-induced dizziness with nausea. Symptoms must be of moderate or severe intensity. Duration of acute episodes is limited to a window of between 5 minutes and 72 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Migraine and Vertigo: A Marriage of Convenience," by J. Phillips, N. Longridge, A. Mallinson and G. Robinson in a 2010 issue of the journal.