Minor head trauma – induced sporadic hemiplegic migraine coma

Familial hemiplegic migraine is a severe, rare subtype of migraine. Gene mutations on chromosome 19 have been identified in the calcium channel, voltage-dependent, P/Q type, alpha-1A subunit gene (chromosome 19p13) for familial hemiplegic migraine. Recently a gene mutation (Serine-218-Leucine) for a dramatic syndrome associated with familial hemiplegic migraine, commonly named “migraine coma”, has implicated exon 5 of this gene. The occurrence of trivial head trauma, in such familial hemiplegic migraine patients, may also be complicated by severe, sometimes even fatal, cerebral edema and coma occurring after a lucid interval. Sporadic hemiplegic migraine shares a similar spectrum of clinical presentation and genetic heterogeneity. The case report presented in this article implicates the involvement of the Serine-218-Leucine mutation in the extremely rare disorder of minor head trauma–induced migraine coma. We conclude that the Serine-218-Leucine mutation in the calcium channel, voltage-dependent, P/Q type, alpha-1A subunit gene is involved in sporadic hemiplegic migraine, delayed cerebral edema and coma after minor head trauma.