Headache

Although headache is not a common symptom of MS, some reports suggest that people with MS have an increased incidence of certain types of headache.

One report noted that migraine headaches were more than twice as common in a group of MS patients than in a matched group of people without MS. Other investigators found a prior diagnosis of migraine in one-third of the MS group being studied. A third study found that 20% of a sample group of people with MS had a family history of migraine, compared to 10% of controls, suggesting that there may be a common predisposing factor to both MS and migraine. Vascular or migraine type headaches have even been reported as the first symptom of MS.

Source - NMSS Information Resource Center and Library. Compendium of Multiple Sclerosis Information (CMSI). © 2003, National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Reproduced with permission.