Onder, Halil, Ulusoy, Ersin Kasim, Aslanyavrusu, Memet et al. · Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020 · DOI
This study looked at 158 people with migraines to see how many had a condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), which causes increased pressure inside the skull. The researchers found that 6% of migraine patients had signs of IIH, and that this condition was more common in people with chronic migraines (ongoing frequent headaches) rather than occasional migraines. Obesity was the strongest risk factor for having IIH in this group.
This finding is relevant to ME/CFS patients because chronic fatigue syndrome frequently co-occurs with migraine, and the study documents increased prevalence of both fibromyalgia and CFS in chronic migraineurs. Understanding the role of IIH in chronic headache syndromes may help identify treatable underlying causes in patients with overlapping ME/CFS and migraine diagnoses.
This study does not establish causation between migraine and IIH—it only demonstrates association in one clinic population. It does not determine whether IIH causes migraine symptoms, migraine causes IIH, or whether they share common underlying mechanisms. The cross-sectional design cannot clarify temporal relationships or explain the biological mechanisms connecting these conditions.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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