Multimodal Brain Function in Migraine Patients With Patent Foramen Ovale

NCT07343154 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 45

Last updated 2026-01-15

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This investigator-initiated, single-center prospective study is designed to clarify how patent foramen ovale (PFO) relates to brain function abnormalities in patients with drug-refractory migraine with aura (MA), and whether percutaneous PFO closure is associated with measurable, longitudinal improvements in neurophysiological and neuroimaging markers as well as clinical symptoms.

The study addresses two core questions: (1) Do MA patients with clinically significant right-to-left shunt due to PFO demonstrate distinct resting-state brain function patterns-captured by high-density EEG (hdEEG), resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), and standardized cognitive testing-compared with MA patients without PFO? (2) In MA patients with PFO who undergo clinically indicated percutaneous PFO closure, do these multimodal brain function measures change over time after closure (pre-procedure vs 1, 6, and 12 months), and are such changes accompanied by improvement in migraine burden, quality of life, and mood/anxiety symptoms? The protocol includes two phases. In Phase 1 (cross-sectional comparison), two groups are evaluated at baseline: MA with PFO (PFO+/MA+) and MA without PFO (PFO-/MA+). Participants complete hdEEG and rs-fMRI to characterize whole-brain power spectral density and connectivity, and undergo MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) testing and validated symptom/psychological assessments (e.g., MIDAS, MSQ v2.1, PHQ-9, GAD-7, RoPE). In Phase 2 (prospective self-controlled cohort), eligible PFO+/MA+ participants who proceed to percutaneous PFO closure as part of routine clinical care are followed longitudinally with repeated multimodal assessments at pre-closure baseline and post-closure 1, 6, and 12 months. This phase evaluates within-person trajectories of resting-state brain function (hdEEG, rs-fMRI) and cognition/emotion measures, together with migraine diary-based outcomes and patient-reported quality of life/disability and mood/anxiety scales. Key eligibility focuses on adults aged 18-65 years with ICHD-3-defined migraine with aura and a history of frequent migraine (≥4 migraine days/month during screening) despite prior preventive therapy trials; the PFO group requires echocardiographic confirmation of PFO with at least moderate right-to-left shunt (e.g., during Valsalva on contrast TEE), consistent with the study's focus on clinically meaningful shunt physiology.

The primary endpoints are multimodal brain function and cognition measures. In Phase 1, the main outcomes include between-group differences in MCCB composite score, rs-fMRI whole-brain functional connectivity strength, and hdEEG spectral power across frequency bands (delta/theta/alpha/beta/gamma) and theta-band connectivity quantified by whole-brain phase-lag index (PLI). In Phase 2, the primary outcome is the 12-month post-closure change in these multimodal resting-state brain function measures, reflecting dynamic neural recovery or reorganization after PFO closure.

Secondary outcomes include changes in migraine clinical metrics (monthly migraine days, attack frequency and duration, and complete remission rate), migraine-specific quality of life (MSQ v2.1), disability (MIDAS), and depression/anxiety symptom scores (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) over follow-up. Safety outcomes include adverse events potentially related to the closure procedure and routine post-procedural anti-thrombotic therapy, captured throughout follow-up.

Conditions

  • PFO
  • Cognitive
  • Cognitive Functions
  • Migraine

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-02-01
Primary Completion
2028-06-30
Completion
2029-06-30

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07343154 on ClinicalTrials.gov