Transient migraine-like symptoms with interval carotid artery dissection

We report three patients with angiographically confirmed internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection who presented with transient symptoms resembling migraine with aura. Marching impairments from one modality to another preceded recognition of the diagnosis of dissection and were not associated with clinical or radiologic evidence of cerebral infarction. We review the clinical patterns in which ICA dissection may be identified in the setting of migrainous symptoms, given the different therapeutic approaches to migraine and dissection and the non-invasive means to diagnose dissection with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We offer mechanisms for recurrent neurologic symptoms in patients with ICA dissection. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.