Migraine and Raynaud phenomenon: Possible late complications of Kawasaki disease

Migraine and Raynaud phenomenon often coexist and may reflect similar vascular reactions. Both have been associated with vascular endothelial cell dysfunction. Kawasaki disease is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that affects children and may lead to the formation of coronary artery aneurysms. Endothelial cell dysfunction has been demonstrated late in Kawasaki disease and is not restricted to coronary vessels. We report the case of a patient who developed typical migraine with aura and Raynaud phenomenon at the age of 14, 12 years after onset of Kawasaki disease. His migraine responded well to pizotifen, and both migraine and Raynaud phenomenon improved after initiation of treatment with valproic acid. We postulate that both migraine and Raynaud phenomenon in this case represent late consequences of Kawasaki disease and result from extracoronary endothelial dysfunction.