Migraine-related stroke: brain infarction in superior cerebellar artery territory demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance

We report 4 cases of migraine-related stroke in young females. Two patients were taking oral contraceptives and one was pregnant. The results of the computerized tomography of the brain were negative in 3 patients and partially positive in one, while NMR showed ischemic lesions in the posterior fossa in each case. We would like to highlight the value of NMR in the assessment of migraine associated with prolonged focal neurologic deficiencies when the clinical examination revealed brain stem or cerebellar signs and the peculiar localization of the ischemic lesion that corresponded in all 4 cases to the area irrigated by the superior cerebellar artery. An hormonal factor is suspected as the precipitating event of this complication in 3 of these patients.