The ABCs of childhood migraines.

Usually associated with adults, migraine headaches also occur in children from preschool age through adolescence. Their migraines can be as debilitating as those suffered by adults and can lead to serious physical and psychological consequences, but, in many instances, they go undiagnosed and untreated.

According to Steven Leber, assistant professor of pediatrics and of neurology, University of Michigan Medical Center, many people experience their first migraines in adolescence; they afflict between 10 and 20% of all teenagers. However, they can occur even in infancy. About three percent of those under age seven have them, as do five percent of those between seven and 12.

"There are a lot of variants in kids, perhaps more than in adults." For example, a child may have recurrent episodes of droopy eyelids, which evolve into typical migraines later in life. Or, the childhood migraines can cause "mini-strokes," whereby the youngster becomes weak on one side of the body or blind temporarily. Often, this type of migraine is provoked by minor head trauma, such as heading a soccer ball. Another form has been dubbed the "Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome" because it causes visual distortion in which body parts appear to shrink and elongate. Some migraines temporarily can leave a child literally speechless. These neurological effects can last from minutes to hours.

Between five and 20% of all...