Migraine and cerebral blood flow during centrifugation

Abstract

I studied the incidence of migraine among freestyle figure skaters (with rotational spinning motion) and ice dancers (same conditions and venue, but without spinning). My hypothesis was that freestylists would experience centrifugation of blood away from the central axis of a spin, whereas ice dancers, even with similar exertion, would experience no such centrifugation. The common freestylists' experience of having fluid forced from the nose during a fast spin indicates that simple fluid dynamics govern the distribution of bodily fluids; more liquid than solid body parts are displaced from the central axis while spinning. If, as predicted by the primary vascular hypothesis of migraine, 1 Wolff HG Headache and other head pain. Oxford University Press, New York1963: 259-268 Google Scholar blood drains from the central cerebral vasculature and pools in the outer vessels, then the migraine experience resembles a skater's spin, at least with regard to blood flow. The primary vascular hypothesis of migraine first proposed by Wolff 1 Wolff HG Headache and other head pain. Oxford University Press, New York1963: 259-268 Google Scholar in 1963 has been bolstered by research such as Sakai's 2 Sakai F Regional cerebral blood flow during migraine (in Japanese). Rinsho Shinkeigaku. 1995; 35: 1333-1335 PubMed Google Scholar measurement of regional cerebral blood flow with single photon-emission computed tomography, which showed that regional ischaemia exists during migraine aura and is attributable to cerebral vasospasm rather than primary neuronal factors. Panconesi and colleagues 3 Panconesi A Curradi C Leoncini G Anselmi B Franchi G Painful vein overdistention in migraine patients: no relationship with serotoninergic parameters. Cephalalgia. 1996; 16: 37-40 Crossref PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar showed that migraineurs may be differentiated from non-migraineurs by the pain they feel during hyperaemia, even in other parts of the body.