What is migraine with brain stem aura (formerly called basilar type migraine)?
Migraine with brain stem aura is a rare disorder that usually affects patients aged 7 to 20 years and rarely presents in individuals older than 50 years.
One study reported the following aura symptoms: vertigo, 61%; dysarthria, 53%; tinnitus, 45%; diplopia, 45%; bilateral visual symptoms, 40%; bilateral paresthesias, 24%; decreased level of consciousness, 24%; and hypoacusis, 21%.
Visual symptoms—usually blurred vision, shimmering colored lights accompanied by blank spots in the visual field, scintillating scotoma, and graying of vision—may start in one visual field and then spread to become bilateral.
The median duration of aura was 60 minutes (range, 2 minutes to 72 hours), with two or more aura symptoms always occurring.
