Vascular headache of the migraine type is associated with vasomotor
changes in cerebral arteries. The authors studied whether skin temperature
training (biofeedback) reduces the frequency, severity, and duration of
these headaches by measuring the regional cerebral blood flow in 11
migraine patients and 9 normal volunteers using the noninvasive 133Xe
inhalation technique. Half of each group was randomly assigned to a
hand-warming or a hand-cooling group. Cerebral blood flow increased in
several regions of the left hemisphere to a statistically significant
degree only for the migraineurs who were in the hand- warming group. The
pattern of vasomotor regulation apparently differs between migraine
subjects and normal subjects. The migraineurs' headache symptoms were
affected by both warming and cooling, but warming produced more salutary
effects.Abstract Teaser