7T MRI scans for migraine, visual snow, and epilepsy

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

Researchers will recruit people with migraine, visual snow syndrome, drug‑resistant epilepsy, and healthy controls and scan them on a clinical 7T Terra Siemens MRI. Multimodal imaging will include structural, quantitative, diffusion, functional MRI and MR spectroscopy to characterize microstructure and network changes. Participants will also complete clinical assessments and questionnaires (including the HARDSHIP migraine questionnaire) and provide medication history. The goal is to compare disease‑specific brain regions and networks across groups to better understand shared and distinct pathophysiology.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients:

* Patient must be able to read and sign the informed consent form
* Stable prophylactic medication for 2 months prior to MRI
* At leat one of the two criteria applies:
* Patients diagnosed with migraine (with or without aura, episodic or chronic). Diagnosis is ensured by clinical interview (at least 8 weeks prior to MRI). Also, patients complete a migraine questionnaire (HARDSHIP) (at least 8 weeks before MRI). Migraine frequency ≥ 2 migraine attacks/month.
* Patients with drug resistent epilepsy accroding to ILAE crtieria
* Patients with diagnoses of Visual snow syndrome

Healthy participants;

* No migraine (validated by questionnaire) or epilepsy
* Participants must be able to read and sign the informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

* Treatment of migraine disease with Botox within \< 4 months before baseline and during the study period
* Pregnant or breastfeeding women
* Intention during the course of the trial to become pregnant
* Women with bilateral ovariectomy, with or without hysterectomy, and postmenopausal women (\>2 years of age) are not considered childbearing.
* Other clinically significant comorbidities (e.g., renal insufficiency, hepatic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, etc.),
* Known or suspected noncompliance with the protocol, drug or alcohol abuse,
* Patient's inability to follow trial procedures, e.g., due to language problems, mental illness, dementia, etc.,
* Prior participation in the clinical trial
* Enrolment of the investigator, his/ her family members, employees and other dependent persons of the test personnel
* Metallic objects in the body (e.g., splinters, MR incompatible implants).
* Pacemaker
* Claustrophobia
* Obesity (body mass index \> 35 kg/m2)

Where it's running

• Klinik Lengg
  Zurich, Switzerland Recruiting
• University Hospital Zurich
  Zurich, Switzerland Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Patrick Freund, Prof. Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. — University of Zurich
• Study coordinator: Lynn Farner, MSc
• Email: lynn.farner@balgrist.ch
• Phone: +41 44 510 72 08

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Brain function and visual adaptation in people with and without Visual Snow

  This project will test whether brain activity and responses to visual stimuli differ between adults with Visual Snow Syndrome, adults with migraine, and healthy adults.

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• Why People with Epilepsy Get More Infections

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• Long-Term Epilepsy Outcomes in Children After Perinatal Stroke

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  Recruiting University Hospital, Strasbourg, France · Strasbourg · NCT07898397

• Hypothalamus structure and heart autonomic changes in drug-resistant epilepsy

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  Recruiting Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens · Amiens, Picardie · NCT07888543

• One-day exercise test to see how brain and body react in epilepsy, cognitive disorders, Parkinson's, dementia, and related conditions

  A one-day study tests how an acute bout of exercise changes brain function and bodily signals in people with certain neurological conditions compared with healthy individuals.

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.