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Hemiplegia and Headache: a Review of Hemiplegia in Headache Disorders

  • Uncommon and/or Unusual Headaches and Syndromes (J Ailani, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The most common scenario wherein the practicing neurologist is likely to encounter a patient with headache and hemiplegia will vary depending on his/her specific type of practice. A neurologist providing consultative service to an emergency department is far more likely to see patients with “secondary” headache and hemiplegia in the setting of either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke than hemiplegia as a transient feature of a primary headache disorder. Neurologists subspecializing in headache medicine who practice in a tertiary referral headache clinic are more likely to encounter hemiplegic migraine, but even in that clinical setting hemiplegic migraine is by no means a frequent diagnosis. The acute onset of hemiplegia can be very frightening not only to the patient but also to the medical personnel. Given the abundance of mimicry, practitioners must judiciously ascertain the correct diagnosis as treatment may greatly vary depending on the cause of both headache and hemiplegia. In this review, we will address the most common causes of hemiplegia associated with headache.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. J. Ivan Lopez, Dr. Ashley Holdridge, and Dr. John Rothrock each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Nevada, 75 Pringle Way, Suite 401, Reno, NV, 89502, USA

    J. Ivan Lopez & John F. Rothrock

  2. Loyola University Health Systems, 2160 S. First Avenue, Maywood, IL, 60153, USA

    Ashley Holdridge

Authors
  1. J. Ivan Lopez
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  2. Ashley Holdridge
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  3. John F. Rothrock
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Correspondence to J. Ivan Lopez.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Uncommon and/or Unusual Headaches and Syndromes

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Lopez, J.I., Holdridge, A. & Rothrock, J.F. Hemiplegia and Headache: a Review of Hemiplegia in Headache Disorders. Curr Pain Headache Rep 19, 471 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-014-0471-y

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