Vestibular migraine with Wallenberg syndrome: a case report

Background: Vestibular migraine, a kind of acute vestibular syndrome, leads to both migraines and vertigo symptoms in a single patient. The occurrence of vestibular migraine has shown an obvious increase in female groups based on age. Though it is recognized that migraines may cause ischemic lesions in some brain regions, the relationship between vestibular migraine and cerebral infarction has seldom been reported, especially with no known research reports about vestibular migraine with Wallenberg syndrome. Based on this, the connection of the two diseases needs to be the focus of more research.

Case presentation: The patient, a 35-year-old lady, came to our department with severe vertigo and headaches for approximately two years. She suffered from migraines which attacked about twice yearly for nearly a decade. The diffusive weighted imaging showed a subacute infarction in the right lateral medullar. The clinical characteristics and MRI findings supported the diagnosis of vestibular migraine with Wallenberg syndrome. Along with the normal routine medication for vestibular migraine with Wallenberg syndrome, we also prescribed migraine therapy at the same time. In a 3-month follow-up, the patient had suffered only one vertigo attack and she reported that the migraines were less common and less intense than she was previously experiencing.

Conclusions: Due to the fact that vestibular migraine is one of the risk factors of cerebral ischemia, we need to pay more attention to this phenomenon. The current case suggests that both routine medication on ischemic stroke as well as treatment for migraines should be used concurrently in vestibular migraine with Wallenberg syndrome.