Abdominal aura
A somatosensory aura linked to epilepsy and migraine.
Abdominal aura, also termed visceral aura or epigastric aura, is a somatosensory aura that typically presents as abdominal discomfort such as nausea, malaise, hunger, or pain. It is most notably associated with epilepsy, particularly temporal lobe epilepsy, and also occurs in the context of migraine. The term distinguishes this phenomenon from other somatosensory auras like visual disturbances and paraesthesia.
Quick Facts
- Treatment
- Anticonvulsants
- Specialty
- Neurology, Epileptology
- Symptoms
- Abdominal pain
- nausea
- vomiting
- Differential
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- infectious gastroenteritis
- anxiety
- Causes
- Epileptic seizures, migraine
Facts from the source article.
Epilepsy
In epilepsy, an aura is a focal seizure where seizure activity remains limited to a brain region and the person stays conscious, often experiencing sensory effects. Abdominal aura is a common epileptic aura, especially in temporal lobe epilepsy compared to extratemporal focal epilepsies. One study found that over half of temporal lobe epilepsy patients had abdominal aura, and most of those cases progressed to a generalized motor seizure. Other seizure symptoms that may aid diagnosis include episodes lasting seconds to minutes, confusion or unresponsiveness during attacks, lethargy or sleep afterward, and evolution from abdominal aura into another seizure type. When abdominal aura does not precede another seizure, diagnosis becomes difficult; the most conclusive method is correlating abdominal symptoms with epileptic activity on an electroencephalogram (EEG). Notably, episodic abdominal complaints in a person with known epilepsy do not automatically indicate epileptic abdominal aura, as nausea and discomfort are common in both epileptic and non-epileptic individuals. Treatment typically involves anticonvulsants to prevent seizures.
Migraine
Migraine aura usually precedes headache onset, develops slowly, and most often involves visual, sensory, or speech and language changes, though it can occur without headache. Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal discomfort are frequent in migraine; while not classically considered aura symptoms for diagnosing migraine with aura, they may still precede and predict headache. Abdominal aura also appears in disorders related to migraine, such as cyclical vomiting syndrome and abdominal migraine. Cyclical vomiting syndrome features recurrent episodic vomiting attacks with normal intervals, most commonly in childhood, and its symptoms strongly overlap with migraine gastrointestinal symptoms. Its etiology is believed to relate to migraine, with shared mitochondrial DNA changes and a common family history of migraine. Abdominal migraine is an episodic disorder of severe abdominal pain without headache, often accompanied by anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and pallor. Episodes last 2–72 hours with complete symptom-free periods between attacks, typically presenting in childhood; most affected children later develop migraine headaches.
More in Symptoms and Signs: Digestive System and Abdomen
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