People with epilepsy are more than twice as likely to develop migraine headaches as those without the disorder. Research showed that more than 20 percent of people with epilepsy have migraines, compared to 11 percent of the general population.
Evidence supports the coexistence of migraines with the following conditions:
* In migraine sufferers, 6% are epileptic, more than ten times than the general
population.
* In one study, people and their relatives who are diagnosed with epilepsy
were found to be approximately 2.4 times more likely to have migraines than
the control group.
* In another epilepsy study, about 16% of those people who had migraines
also experienced epileptic seizures before, during or after a migraine.
* While most migraine sufferers do not have epilepsy and most epileptics do
not suffer from migraines, these findings still indicate a significant “overlap”
of both of these conditions.
Epilepsy and migraines share common features, including the fact that both are episodic. Also, they share many common triggers. Foods such as chocolates, aged cheese, and red wine may trigger migraine headaches. Alcohol (or alcohol withdrawal) can provoke a seizure. Emotional stress, poor sleep, fatigue or flashing lights are often a trigger for both seizures and headaches.
And this migraine-epilepsy duo also share some of the same symptoms: headache, abdominal pain, awareness and
EEG abnormalities. A person may have a seizure on one occasion and a classic attack of migraine on another.
Resources:
Steven Karceski, MD, Practical Neurology, March 2007
http://www.columbiaepilepsy.org/docs/patients/March 2007.pdf
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol20/vol20_iss16/record2016.15.html
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/20011979/Epilepsy-Migraine---More-than-just-a-headache/
http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/arcneu/ane-2006/ane064j.pdf
http://www.realage.com/check-your-h.../medical-conditions-associated-with-migraines