Complex Migraine? Stroke? Taking A Closer Look

Video of CBS Los Angeles TV reporter Serene Branson went viral this week when the young journalist began speaking gibberish on-air, leading to concern that she'd suffered a stroke.

The good news is, she didn't.

ABC News reports that Branson's episode has been diagnosed as a complex migraine, which can mimic the effects of a small stroke, particularly aphasia. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, aphasia "impairs the expression and understanding of language."

Dr. Andrew Charles, director of the Headache Research and Treatment Program in the UCLA Department of Neurology, who examined Branson after the incident, clarified that the seeming aphasia was actually "dysphasic language dysfunction," according to ABC. Which is a symptom of complex migraines, not strokes.

So what, exactly, is a complex migraine? Basically, a migraine that results in seemingly the same neurological symptoms as, well, a stroke. But Dr. Charles clarified that while both are the result of big-time changes in blood flow in the brain, complex migraines don't result in any actual, long-term damage.

That doesn't mean, however, that they should be ignored. According to The New York Times, there is now evidence that migraine sufferers with a history of aura -- described by the Mayo Clinic as a migrane with flashes of light, blindspots, tingling or speech problems -- are at a greater risk of ischemic (clot-related) strokes, something to the tune of 20 strokes per 100,000 people per year.

According to the American Stroke Association, a seemingly similar incident to be taken extremely seriously is a TIA, or transient ischemic attack, often referred to as a "mini stroke." This too results in temporary stroke-like symptoms and approximately one third of people who suffer a TIA go on to have an actual stroke within a year.

WATCH:

Comments

[j brightgallery]

02:04 PM on 02/21/2011

I've so often heard people suggest a migraine is just a headache; not so.

At the height of my own migraine suffering, I was hospitalized because the symptoms of the migraines so closely resembled stroke: disrupted vision, numb limb, confusion and difficulty with speech. These were replaced by unbearable head pain and uncontrollable vomiting. I was afraid to go out alone for fear I'd be confused and stranded away from home.

I've just published on Amazon, a book written as the result of over 20 years of experience visiting doctors, neurologists, nutritionists and pouring over every piece of research I could find in regard to migraine and how it is affected by diet & lifestyle.

Migraines can be debillitating but there is hope. Good luck to all those who're looking for a cure.

[dfed813]

12:45 AM on 02/20/2011

Still think it could hae been a seizure, I get aphasic from seizures. I was treated for migraines for yrs, turned out they are a by product of seizure. That's my experience anyway.

[bobncar]

10:26 PM on 02/19/2011

As a long time sufferer of Migraines, I can tell when one is coming on because of slurring and scrambling of speech. The one medication I was able to acquire that stopped a migraine dead in it's tracks has been taken off the market. Handy suggestion.......There are a lot of triggers for a migraine, MSG or modified food starch being one of the biggest culprits, but beware of too much salt also. snack foods are deadly to a chronic migraine problem. Loaded with natural flavorings, (another code word for MSG,) salt and sugar.

[rini]

10:05 AM on 02/19/2011

aspirin....

[IllinoisObama]

09:58 AM on 02/19/2011

a complex migraine is the gop in congress

[activist57]

07:29 AM on 02/19/2011

Can someone please explain to me how this is a "migraine" (of any sort) when she's got a smile on her face?

Migraines are debilitating. You don't smile when you're in the midst of a migraine.

[rini]

10:04 AM on 02/19/2011

Supposedly, she had a severe headache....

[Bike Commuter]

10:46 AM on 02/19/2011

It is a newsperson's job to smile unless it is a serious story. This is especially true for women.

[SageFire]

02:29 AM on 02/19/2011

The first time I had one I thought I was having a stroke. I lost my vision, I couldn't talk or walk well, and was very scared. After being diagnosed I kept a journal I found online to figure out my triggers and learned that I could balance them and lead a somewhat normal life. If I have a glass of red wine then I make sure I don't eat cheese, if I get stressed I make sure I get 8 hours sleep. I also always have to set my monitor refresh rates above 60 Hertz. Then I started acupunture and large doses of Vit D. My migraines then went from 3 a week to 1 every few weeks. I can't say enough about how much that helped me. The only thing that kicks them once the start though is Maxalt. Hope this helps someone. Check out Oliver Sacks book on migraines, very interesting.

[pc51]

03:04 PM on 02/19/2011

Eliminating gluten from my diet worked for me. From a coupel bad migranes a month to pretty much nada after only a few months. Gotta stay away from red wine as well. I'm more sad about the wine because once you get used to avoiding gluten there is still a lot of good stuff to eat.

[SageFire]

03:17 PM on 02/19/2011

Gluten is a huge problem for me as well, I do avoid it but sometimes it sneaks in. That is one thing I haven't been tracking because I thought I was pretty good about it. Thanks for the tip, I will add accidental gluten to my journal.

[sabelmouse]

09:29 AM on 02/20/2011

about the hertz. the higher the better ? my son is always on about that to me. i find both tv and computer sreens a little hard to handle. i just put mine to 75 to see if that makes a difference. it was at 60.

[European1919]

09:34 AM on 02/20/2011

You will find the lad is right. Now why didn't he set the pc monitor to the right level for you? TVs can't be adjusted. You have to live with the technology you bought.

[SageFire]

12:04 PM on 02/20/2011

That always makes an immediate difference for me. If I don't do that I will have a headache within hours. And yes, higher is better.

[Lucille]

01:50 AM on 02/19/2011

I reacted strongly to this, I guess a lot of people did, it was frightening, I hope she takes good care of herself.

[McHale Ann Haiman]

01:39 AM on 02/19/2011

Even know she is OK and that she didn't have a stroke, the video is very scary. I get very bad headaches, never diagnosed as migraines, but they are awful and I would be terrified if that was happening to me. Anytime something happens to you and you aren't fully cognitive as to what it is, it's scary. I am glad she is OK though. It really disturbs me though that the person taking the video of the footage is laughing. It isn't something to laugh at, even knowing that everything is alright.

[rini]

10:06 AM on 02/19/2011

Yeah,

She needs to start an aspirin if she's at risk for an ischemic stroke.

[onwisconsin]

12:24 AM on 02/19/2011

For those of us who have migraines, we sometimes forget that they can scare those around us. They can also scare a person who's never had a complex migraine before.

If this happens to you, go the ER and then follow up with a neurologist that specializes in migraine care.

I have had migraines all of my life. I was diagnosed as a toddler after my mother took me to every doctor she could to figure out what was going on. It was considered a fluke diagnosis at the time but this early onset happens in my family in at least 1 child per generation. My niece got it at 6. Others tend to get migraines around puberty.

I've been to many migraine clinics throughout the US. There is no one best medicine or treatment for all migraineurs. Triggers, auras, levels of pain, sensitivities to light, sound, and smell, as well as treatment all vary with the individual. It takes time to find the solutions. For some of us, the reality is that our solutions are 50% at best. However, meds are much better now than when I was a child. Pain management is much better. Brain chemistry is better understood.

If you have migraines, see a good neurologist who specializes in migraines. Don't rely on your GP. Odds are, they don't have the best and latest research. The neurologist will. You don't have to live your life in pain all of the time.

[Smirk]

02:01 PM on 02/19/2011

Fanned. I have a similar family history of migraine--although none of us have had them quite so young (yet)--and have been an unofficial fan for awhile already. :)

[pc51]

03:07 PM on 02/19/2011

I know this does not work for everyone, but have you tried a gluten free diet? It made all of the difference in my case.

[onwisconsin]

08:33 PM on 02/19/2011

Thanks for the thought. I'm not actually allergic to gluten. My mom has Celiac Sprue and I've been tested for it. I am allergic to corn. It causes anaphylaxis. I also have other allergies: foods, medicines, environmental, etc.

We know most of my triggers. Unfortunately some of them are impossible to avoid.

[Bike Commuter]

03:08 PM on 02/18/2011

I am glad that she seems to be ok.

[Jonsil]

02:13 PM on 02/18/2011

This actually is a rare, but definitive symptom of migraine, one of the most complex disabling diseases in the world. And this incident is a dramatic illustration of the urgent need for more $$ for innovative medical research.
Check out our website and learn more: migraineresearchfoundation.org
Dr. Charles is one of our researchers.

[anne9660]

01:41 PM on 02/18/2011

At least find a decent version of the clip. What's with this videotaped with a hand-held camera off a TV screen nonsense? Lazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGJ2XRJBHM8

[Bike Commuter]

03:07 PM on 02/18/2011

Youtube has been taking down copies of the video due to copyright claims from CBS.

[NikkiPersnickety]

01:39 PM on 02/18/2011

Not a stroke and not a migraine either. This woman was obviously taking a prescription painkiller. As a migraine sufferer, I've never had anything like this before, but I have seen people on drugs who fumble their wording this badly. My vote goes to drugs.

[exlibriskitteh]

02:34 PM on 02/18/2011

As a migraine sufferer, I can tell you this DOES happen to me almost every time I have a migraine. There are different types of migraines. I have "Classical Migraines" which come with a bunch of fun, stroke-like symptoms. I get a visual aura at onset, along with temporary numbness on one side, usually my arm, on the opposite side of my body as the headache. i also have the verbal confusion, where I'll try to talk about something but use the wrong words. That's why when I feel a migraine coming on, I go straight to bed and don't talk to anyone!

[Master of Puppets]

08:45 PM on 02/18/2011

Same here. It was very scary the first time it happened and I was relieved when the neurologist said it was a migraine.

[activist57]

07:32 AM on 02/19/2011

So how to you explain the huge smile on her face the entire time? I've had migraines for 15 years, I know that you don't smile when you have a migraine. Your body is overcome with pain and can only focus on it.

I think she's been misdiagnosed.

[lovingthechaos]

02:48 PM on 02/18/2011

Yep, I am sure you know better than the UCLA Nurologist that she is seeing.

Incidently, I have had optical migranes, & the first time it happened, my left side went numb & I began slurring my speech. I thought it was a stroke - turned out to be a migrane.

[activist57]

07:36 AM on 02/19/2011

Because every neurologist knows what they're talking about.

/sarcasm

I've had migraines for 15 years, I've seen 10 neurologists. Each of them tells me I'm fine, when spending up to 20 days a month in bed with a migraine is not "fine".