Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination test for brief cognitive assessment of adolescents suffering from migraine with aura

The aim of this study was to assess the role of the Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination test (ACE-R) in the evaluation of cognitive status in migraineurs interictally. A total of 44 adolescent patients and 44 healthy controls, matched by age and gender, have undergone ACE-R testing. Migraineurs were additionally questioned about migraine aura features and presence of higher cortical dysfunctions (HCD) during an aura. According to the questionnaire results, patients were subsequently divided into HCD and Non-HCD group. ACE-R scores of migraine patients were significantly lower than in healthy controls (93.68 ± 3.64 vs 96.91 ± 2.49; t = 4.852, p < 0.001). Also, subscores of memory and verbal fluency were significantly higher in the control population. There was no correlation of HCD occurrence with cognitive examination score, although Non-HCD subgroup achieved better score (93.13 ± 3.91 vs 94.29 ± 3.30; t = 1.053, p = 0.298). Findings have shown that migraineurs get lower ACE-R test scores, with a tendency to have a poorer outcome in more complex aura. Also, our study has revealed that the ACE-R test is an easily administered test for brief assessment of cognitive status in migraineurs. Future perspectives could be further evaluation of ACE-R test in larger sample size and the impact of migraine with aura on cognitive function in adolescents.