Bubbling, frothing and sloshing: Long-hypothesized plasma instabilities finally observed

 Whether between galaxies or within doughnut-shaped fusion devices known as tokamaks, the electrically charged fourth state of matter known as plasma regularly encounters powerful magnetic fields, changing shape and sloshing in space. Now, a new measurement technique using protons, subatomic particles that form the nuclei of atoms, has captured details of this sloshing for the first time, potentially providing insight into the formation of enormous plasma jets that stretch between the stars.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) created detailed pictures of a magnetic field bending outward because of the pressure created by expanding plasma. As the plasma pushed on the magnetic field, bubbling and frothing known as magneto-Rayleigh Taylor instabilities arose at the boundaries, creating structures resembling columns and mushrooms.

Then, as the plasma's energy diminished, the magnetic field lines snapped back into their original positions. As a result, the plasma was compressed into a straight structure resembling the jets of plasma that can stream from ultra-dense dead stars known as black holes and extend for distances many times the size of a galaxy. The results suggest that those jets, whose causes remain a mystery, could be formed by the same compressing magnetic fields observed in this research.

"When we did the experiment and analyzed the data, we discovered we had something big," said Sophia Malko, a PPPL staff research physicist and lead scientist on the paper. "Observing magneto-Rayleigh Taylor instabilities arising from the interaction of plasma and magnetic fields had long been thought to occur but had never been directly observed until now. This observation helps confirm that this instability occurs when expanding plasma meets magnetic fields. We didn't know that our diagnostics would have that kind of precision. Our whole team is thrilled!"

"These experiments show that magnetic fields are very important for the formation of plasma jets," said Will Fox, a PPPL research physicist and principal investigator of the research reported in Physical Review Research. "Now that we might have insight into what generates these jets, we could, in theory, study giant astrophysical jets and learn something about black holes."

PPPL has world-renowned expertise in developing and building diagnostics, sensors that measure properties like density and temperature in plasma in a range of conditions. This achievement is one of several in recent years that illustrates how the Lab is advancing measurement innovation in plasma physics.

Using a new technique to produce unprecedented detail

The team improved a measurement technique known as proton radiography by creating a new variation for this experiment that would allow for extremely precise measurements. To create the plasma, the team shone a powerful laser at a small disk of plastic. To produce protons, they shone 20 lasers at a capsule containing fuel made of varieties of hydrogen and helium atoms. As the fuel heated up, fusion reactions occurred and produced a burst of both protons and intense light known as X-rays.

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What microscopic fossilized shells tell us about ancient climate change

 At the end of the Paleocene and beginning of the Eocene epochs, between 59 to 51 million years ago, Earth experienced dramatic warming periods, both gradual periods stretching millions of years and sudden warming events known as hyperthermals.

Driving this planetary heat up were massive emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, but other factors like tectonic activity may have also been at play.

New research led by University of Utah geoscientists pairs sea surface temperatures with levels of atmospheric CO2 during this period, showing the two were closely linked. The findings also provide case studies to test carbon cycle feedback mechanisms and sensitivities critical for predicting anthropogenic climate change as we continue pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on an unprecedented scale in the planet's history.

"The main reason we are interested in these global carbon release events is because they can provide analogs for future change," said lead author Dustin Harper, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geology & Geophysics. "We really don't have a perfect analog event with the exact same background conditions and rate of carbon release."

But the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, suggests emissions during two ancient "thermal maxima" are similar enough with today's anthropogenic climate change to help scientists forecast its consequences.

The research team analyzed microscopic fossils -- recovered in drilling cores taken from an undersea plateau in the Pacific -- to characterize surface ocean chemistry at the time the shelled creatures were alive. Using a sophisticated statistical model, they reconstructed sea surface temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels over a 6-million-year period that covered two hyperthermals, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, or PETM, 56 million years ago and Eocene Thermal Maximum 2, ETM-2, 54 million years ago.

The findings indicate that as atmospheric levels of CO2 rose, so too did global temperatures.

"We have multiple ways that our planet, that our atmosphere is being influenced by CO2 additions, but in each case, regardless of the source of CO2, we're seeing similar impacts on the climate system," said co-author Gabriel Bowen, a U professor of geology & geophysics.

"We're interested in how sensitive the climate system was to these changes in CO2. And what we see in this study is that there's some variation, maybe a little lower sensitivity, a lower warming associated with a given amount of CO2 change when we look at these very long-term shifts. But that overall, we see a common range of climate sensitivities."

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Six new rogue worlds: Star birth clues

 The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted six likely rogue worlds -- objects with planetlike masses but untethered from any star's gravity -- including the lightest ever identified with a dusty disk around it.

The elusive objects offer new evidence that the same cosmic processes that give birth to stars may also play a common role in making objects only slightly bigger than Jupiter.

"We are probing the very limits of the star forming process," said lead author Adam Langeveld, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University. "If you have an object that looks like a young Jupiter, is it possible that it could have become a star under the right conditions? This is important context for understanding both star and planet formation."

The findings come from Webb's deepest survey of the young nebula NGC1333, a star-forming cluster about a thousand light-years away in the Perseus constellation. A new image from the survey released today by the European Space Agency shows NGC1333 glowing with dramatic displays of interstellar dust and clouds. A paper detailing the survey's findings has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.

Webb's data suggest the discovered worlds are gas giants 5-10 times more massive than Jupiter. That means they are among the lowest-mass objects ever found to have grown from a process that would generally produce stars and brown dwarfs, objects straddling the boundary between stars and planets that never ignite hydrogen fusion and fade over time.

"We used Webb's unprecedented sensitivity at infrared wavelengths to search for the faintest members of a young star cluster, seeking to address a fundamental question in astronomy: How light an object can form like a star?" said Johns Hopkins Provost Ray Jayawardhana, an astrophysicist and senior author of the study. "It turns out the smallest free-floating objects that form like stars overlap in mass with giant exoplanets circling nearby stars."

The telescope's observations revealed no objects lower than five Jupiter masses despite possessing sufficient sensitivity to detect such bodies. That's a strong indication that any stellar objects lighter than this threshold are more likely to form the way planets do, the authors concluded.

"Our observations confirm that nature produces planetary mass objects in at least two different ways -- from the contraction of a cloud of gas and dust, the way stars form, and in disks of gas and dust around young stars, as Jupiter in our own solar system did," Jayawardhana said.

The most intriguing of the starless objects is also the lightest, having an estimated mass of five Jupiters (about 1,600 Earths). The presence of a dusty disk means the object almost certainly formed like a star, as space dust generally spins around a central object in the early stages of star formation, said Langeveld, a postdoctoral researcher in Jayawardhana's group.

Disks are also a prerequisite for the formation of planets, suggesting the observations may also have important implications for potential "mini" planets.

"Those tiny objects with masses comparable to giant planets may themselves be able to form their own planets," said co-author Aleks Scholz, an astrophysicist at the University of St Andrews. "This might be a nursery of a miniature planetary system, on a scale much smaller than our solar system."

Using the NIRISS instrument on Webb, the astronomers measured the infrared light profile (or spectrum) of every object in the observed portion of the star cluster and reanalyzed 19 known brown dwarfs. They also discovered a new brown dwarf with a planetary-mass companion, a rare finding that challenges theories of how binary systems form.

"It's likely that such a pair formed the way binary star systems do, from a cloud fragmenting as it contracted," Jayawardhana said. "The diversity of systems that nature has produced is remarkable and pushes us to refine our models of star and planet formation."

Rogue worlds may originate from collapsing molecular clouds that lack the mass for the nuclear fusion that powers stars. They can also form when gas and dust in disks around stars coalesce into planetlike orbs that are eventually ejected from their star systems, probably because of gravitational interactions with other bodies.

These free-floating objects blur classifications of celestial bodies because their masses overlap with gas giants and brown dwarfs. Even though such objects are considered rare in the Milky Way galaxy, the new Webb data show they account for about 10% of celestial bodies in the targeted star cluster.

In the coming months, the team will study more of the faint objects' atmospheres and compare them to heavier brown dwarfs and gas giant planets. They have also been awarded time on the Webb telescope to study similar objects with dusty disks to explore the possibility of forming mini planetary systems resembling Jupiter's and Saturn's numerous moons.

Other authors are Koraljka Muži? and Daniel Capela of Universidade de Lisboa; Loïc Albert, René Doyon, and David Lafrèniere of Université de Montréal; Laura Flagg of Johns Hopkins; Matthew de Furio of University of Texas at Austin; Doug Johnstone of Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre; and Michael Meyer of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The Deep Spectroscopic Survey for Young Brown Dwarfs and Free-Floating Planets used the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope, a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.

The authors acknowledge support from the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the National Research Council of Canada.

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First noninvasive method to continually measure true blood pressure

 

Device uses sound waves to gather blood pressure data from blood vessels, monitoring the response with ultrasound.

Solving a decades-old problem, a multidisciplinary team of Caltech researchers has figured out a method to noninvasively and continually measure blood pressure anywhere on the body with next to no disruption to the patient. A device based on the new technique holds the promise to enable better vital-sign monitoring at home, in hospitals, and possibly even in remote locations where resources are limited.

The new patented technique, called resonance sonomanometry, uses sound waves to gently stimulate resonance in an artery and then uses ultrasound imaging to measure the artery's resonance frequency, arriving at a true measurement of blood pressure. In a small clinical study, the device, which gives patients a gentle buzzing sensation on the skin, produced results akin to those obtained using the standard-of-care blood pressure cuff.

"We ended up with a device that is able to measure the absolute blood pressure -- not only the systolic and diastolic numbers that we are used to getting from blood pressure cuffs -- but the full waveform," says Yaser Abu-Mostafa (PhD '83), professor of electrical engineering and computer science and one of the authors of a new paper describing the technique and device in the journal PNAS Nexus. "With this device you can measure blood pressure continuously and in different sites on the body, giving you much more information about the blood pressure of a person."

"This team has been working for almost a decade, trying to build something that makes a difference, that is good enough to solve a real clinical problem," says Aditya Rajagopal (BS '08, PhD '14), visiting associate in electrical engineering at Caltech, research adjunct assistant professor of biomedical engineering at USC, and a co-author of the new paper. "Many groups, including tech giants like Apple and Google, have been working toward a solution like this, because it enables a spectrum of patient-monitoring possibilities from the hospital to the home. Our method broadens access to hospital-grade monitoring of blood pressure and cardiac health metrics."

Blood pressure 101

Blood pressure is simply the force of blood pushing on the walls of the body's blood vessels as it gets pumped around the body. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is related to risk of heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and other health problems. Low blood pressure, or hypotension, can also be a serious problem because it means the blood is not carrying enough oxygen to the organs. Taking regular measurements of blood pressure is considered one of the best ways to monitor overall health and to identify potential problems.

Most of us have experienced the cuff-style measurement of blood pressure. A nurse, doctor, or machine inflates a cuff that fits around the upper arm until blood can no longer flow, and then slowly releases the air from the cuff while listening for the sound that blood makes as it once again begins to flow. The pressure in the cuff at that point corresponds to the blood pressure in the patient's arteries. But this technique has limitations: It can only be performed periodically, as it involves occluding a blood vessel, and can only collect data from the arm.

Physicians would very much like to have continuous readings that provide full waveforms of a patient's blood pressure, and not only peripheral measurements from an arm but also central measurements from the chest and other parts of the body. To get the full information they need, intensive care physicians and surgeons sometimes resort to inserting a catheter directly into the artery of critical patients (a practice known as placing an arterial line, or "a-line"). This is invasive and can be risky, but, until now, it has been the only way to get a continuous readout of true blood pressure. In some cases, such as problems with heart valves, full blood-pressure waveforms can provide physicians with diagnostic information that they cannot get any other way.

"There's a lot of information in that waveform that is really valuable," says Alaina Brinley Rajagopal, a visiting associate in electrical engineering at Caltech, an emergency medicine physician, and a co-author of the paper. And other blood pressure devices developed over the last decade or two require a calibration step that emergency physicians simply do not have time for, she says. "I need to be able to put something on a patient and have it work immediately."

The new device fits the bill. The current prototype, built and tested by a spin-off company called Esperto Medical, is housed in a transducer case smaller than a deck of cards and is mounted on an armband, though the researchers say it could eventually fit within a package the size of a watch or adhesive patch. The team aims for the device to first be used in hospitals, where it would connect via wire to existing hospital monitors. It could mean that doctors would no longer have to weigh the risks of placing an a-line in order to get the continuous monitoring of real blood pressure for any patient.

Eventually, Brinley says their device could replace blood pressure cuffs as well. "Blood pressure cuffs only take one measurement as often as you run the cuff, so if you're asking patients to monitor their blood pressure at home, they have to know how to use the device, they have to put it on, and they have to be motivated to record the information, and I would say a majority of patients do not do that," says Brinley Rajagopal. "Having a device like ours, where it is just place and forget, you can wear it all day, and it can take however many measurements your provider wants, that would allow for better, precision dosing of medication."

Developing a game changer

Rajagopal recalls the long road it has been getting to this point with the blood pressure device. About a decade ago, Brinley Rajagopal returned from a global health trip particularly frustrated by the standard of care she could provide patients in remote locations. Talking with Rajagopal, the two wished they could invent something like a medical tricorder, a handheld device seen in Star Trek that helped the fictional doctors of the future scan patients, gather medical information, and diagnose. "That got us thinking about technologies we could adapt to get us closer to a goal like that," says Brinley Rajagopal. Those initial sci-fi-inspired discussions eventually led them down the path to try to develop a better blood pressure monitor.

But their first efforts did not pan out. After years of work on a possible solution using blood velocity to derive blood pressure, the team decided that they had reached a dead end. As with many other current blood pressure monitoring devices, that approach could only provide the relative blood pressure -- the difference between the high and low measurements without the absolute number. It also required calibration.

Back to the drawing board

Rajagopal decided it was time to reevaluate and determine if they had any chance of solving this problem. "It was this moment of desperation that actually led to the key insight," says Rajagopal.

Thinking back to his first-year physics course at Caltech, he began scribbling on a nearby wall. He remembered that his Physics1 textbook presented a canonical problem: You have a string under tension. How can you determine how taut the line is? If you tweeze the string, you can relate the velocity at which vibration waves travel back and forth on the string to the resonance frequency in the string, which could give you your answer. "I thought if I could stretch an artery in one direction and magically tweeze it and let it go, the ringing would give us the resonance frequency, which would get us to blood pressure," says Rajagopal. After six years of failures and returning to first principles, they finally had their guiding insight.

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Breakthrough heart MRI technique accurately predicts heart failure risk in general population

 MRI scans could replace invasive heart tests, as new research shows they can reliably estimate pressures inside the heart to predict if a patient will develop heart failure.

The research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Queen Mary University of London also identified key risk factors for increased pressure inside the heart, which leads to heart failure.These risk factors include being over 70, having high blood pressure, being obese, alcohol consumption and being male.

Co-lead author Dr Pankaj Garg, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Heart failure is a lethal condition resulting from rising pressures. One of the most significant findings of this study is that MRI-derived pressure measurements can reliably predict if an individual will develop heart failure.

"This breakthrough suggests that heart MRI could potentially replace invasive diagnostic tests. Participants with higher heart pressure measured by MRI had a fivefold increased risk of developing heart failure over six years."

Previous pioneering research involving UEA, and the universities of Sheffield and Leeds has shown that heart MRI techniques can estimate pressure in the heart and are linked to symptoms and signs of heart failure.

However, to date it remained unknown if heart MRI derived pressures can predict heart failure risk in a general population.

Analysing data from more than 39,000 UK Biobank participants, this latest research demonstrates that MRI-detected pressure changes can identify heart failure risk without invasive procedures.

Co-lead author Dr Nay Aung, from the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London, said: "Additionally, we identified key risk factors for developing high heart pressure: age over 70, high blood pressure, obesity, alcohol consumption and male gender.

"By combining these factors, we developed a model to predict individual heart failure risk. This advancement enables prevention, early detection and treatment of heart failure, which could save many lives."

A heart MRI is a type of scan that uses powerful magnets and radio waves to create detailed images of the heart. Unlike X-rays or CT scans, it does not use harmful radiation.

In this research work, both teams analysed heart MRI data from 39,000 UK biobank participants using artificial intelligence techniques and estimated the pressure inside the heart. They then evaluated each individual's risk factors and their chance of developing heart failure in the future over a six-year follow-up period.

The research was co-led by the University of East Anglia in partnership with Queen Mary University of London. Other contributions were made by St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, the universities of Leeds and Sheffield, Health Data Research UK and the Alan Turing Institute.

UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing de-identified genetic, lifestyle and health information and biological samples from half a million UK participants.

The work was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Wellcome Trust.

'Risk factors for raised left ventricular filling pressure by cardiovascular magnetic resonance: Prognostic insights' is published in European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure.

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New microscope offers faster, high-resolution brain imaging Enhanced two-photon microscopy method could reveal insights into neural dynamics and neurological diseases

 Researchers have developed a new two-photon fluorescence microscope that captures high-speed images of neural activity at cellular resolution. By imaging much faster and with less harm to brain tissue than traditional two-photon microscopy, the new approach could provide a clearer view of how neurons communicate in real time, leading to new insights into brain function and neurological diseases.

"Our new microscope is ideally suited for studying the dynamics of neural networks in real time, which is crucial for understanding fundamental brain functions such as learning, memory and decision-making," said research team leader Weijian Yang from the University of California, Davis. "For example, researchers could use it to observe neural activity during learning to better understand communication and interaction among different neurons during this process." in optica Optica Publishing Group's journal for high-impact research, the researchers describe the new two-photon fluorescence microscope, which incorporates a new adaptive sampling scheme and replaces traditional point illumination with line illumination. They show that the new method enables in vivo imaging of neuronal activity in a mouse cortex and can image at speeds ten times faster than traditional two-photon microscopy while also reducing the laser power on the brain more than tenfold.

"By providing a tool that can observe neuronal activity in real time, our technology could be used to study the pathology of diseases at the earliest stages," said Yunyang Li, the first author of the paper. "This could help researchers better understand and more effectively treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and epilepsy."

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Faster than one pixel at a time -- new imaging method for neutral atomic beam microscopes developed by researchers

 Microscope images could be obtained much more quickly -- rather than one pixel at a time -- thanks to a new imaging method for neutral atomic beam microscopes developed by Swansea University researchers. It could ultimately lead to engineers and scientists getting faster results when they are scanning samples.

Neutral atomic beam microscopes are a major focus of research interest at present. They are capable of imaging various surfaces which cannot be studied using commercially available microscopes. These could include delicate samples -- such as bacterial biofilms, ice films or organic photovoltaic devices -- which are difficult to image or which are damaged and altered by electrons, ions and photons.

They work by scattering a beam of low energy neutral particles, usually helium atoms, from a surface to image its structure and composition.

Existing neutral atomic beam microscopes obtain the image by illuminating the sample through a microscopic pinhole. They then scan the position of the sample while recording the scattered beam to build an image.

However, one major limitation of this approach is the imaging time required, as the image is measured one pixel at a time. Improving the resolution by reducing the pin-hole dimension reduces the beam flux dramatically and requires significantly longer measurement time.

This is where the new Swansea University research makes a difference. The research group of Professor Gil Alexandrowicz from the chemistry department have developed a new -- and faster -- alternative method to pinhole scanning.

They demonstrated the new method using a beam of helium-3 atoms, a rare light isotope of regular helium.

The method works by passing a beam of atoms through a non-uniform magnetic field and using nuclear spin precession to encode the position of the beam particles which interact with the sample.

Morgan Lowe, a PhD student in the Swansea team, built the magnetic encoding device and performed the first set of experiments which demonstrate that the new method works.

The beam profile Mr. Lowe measured compares very well with numerical simulation calculations. The team has also used numerical simulations to show that the new magnetic encoding method should be capable of improving image resolution with a significantly smaller increase in time, in comparison to the currently used pin-hole microscopy approach.

Professor Gil Alexandrowicz of Swansea University chemistry department, lead researcher, explained: "The method we have developed opens up various new opportunities in the field of neutral beam microscopy. It should make it possible to improve image resolution without requiring forbiddingly long measurement times, and also has the potential for enabling new contrast mechanisms based on the magnetic properties of the sample studied.

In the immediate future the new method will be further developed to create a fully working prototype magnetic encoding neutral beam microscope. This will allow testing of the resolution limits, contrast mechanisms and operation modes of the new technique.

In the more distant future, this new type of microscope should become available to scientists and engineers to characterise the topography and composition of sensitive and delicate samples they produce and/or study."

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What to know about atypical migraine

 Atypical migraine describes a migraine-like attack that does not follow the four-phase pattern of a typical migraine attack. Additionally, the condition may not meet all the diagnostic criteria for typical migraine.

It is important to note that “atypical migraine” is not an official medical term, and it is not listed in the International Classification of Headaches Disorders third edition (ICHD3).

However, research suggests that an atypical migraine attack may lastTrusted Source for a shorter duration or less frequently than a typical migraine. A person with atypical migraine may not experience any of the symptoms of a typical migraine, such as nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound.

In this article we discuss the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of atypical migraine, as well as when to speak with a doctor.

Symptoms

Research suggests that the symptoms of an atypical migraine attack may not always be the same as those of a typical migraine attack. Additionally, they may not follow the four phasesTrusted Source of a typical migraine attack or fulfill all of the diagnostic criteria listed in the ICHD3.

Atypical migraine may also present any of the following symptomsTrusted Source:

• Gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal bloating.
• Symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which may include dizziness, difficulty maintaining balance, and a feeling that any immediate surroundings are moving or spinning.
• Sensory and visual issues without any headache present, which healthcare professionals may refer to as typical aura without headache.
• Prodromal symptoms, which may include:
  • a stiff neck
  • fluid retention
  • euphoria
  • blurry vision
  • difficulty concentrating
  • yawning and difficulty swallowing
  • feelings of restlessness
  • sensitivity to light
  • aggression
• Autonomic symptomsTrusted Source, which may involve:
  • conjunctivitis
  • stuffy or runny nose
  • facial sweating
  • flushing of the face
  • a feeling of pressure in the ear
  • eyelid drooping
  • pinpoint pupils
• Recurring headache episodes that immediately interrupt activity, but a person is able to return to that activity as soon as the headache passes.
• Recurring headache episodes that interrupt sleep.

Typical vs. atypical migraine symptoms

Atypical migraine symptoms can present in areas of the body not typically associated with migraine. Some examples of these symptoms include vertigo, trouble swallowing, and nasal congestion. A person may not even present with any headache pain.

Healthcare professionals define typical migraine as repeated episodes of throbbing and pulsating pain on one side of the head. Other common typical migraine symptoms can include:

• nausea
• sensitivity to noise, light, and smell
• vomiting

Additionally, typical migraine has four phases, which include:

• Prodrome: These are symptoms a person experiences up to 24 hoursTrusted Source before a migraine attack. They may include uncontrollable yawning, unexplained changes in mood, and food cravings.
• Aura: These symptoms may occur prior to or during the migraine attack. They may include muscle weakness and visual disturbances, such as flashing or bright lights.
• Headache: This may develop gradually and become more intense during the attack.
• Postdrome: During this phase, a person may feel confused or exhausted following the attack.

Potential causes and triggers

Causes and risk factors for atypical migraine may includeTrusted Source having a family history of atypical or typical migraine, or episodic neurological symptoms earlier in life.

In some cases, a person may notice that certain factors trigger atypical migraine attacks. Some examples may include:

• drinking alcohol
• consuming too much caffeine, or experiencing caffeine withdrawal
• skipping meals
• exercising
• eating certain foods or additives
• not getting enough sleep
• stress
• smoking
• experiencing hormonal changes, which may be due to the menstrual cycle or taking oral contraceptives
• strong smells or perfume
• changes in the weather, or certain types of weather

Diagnosis 

If a person is experiencing migraine-like attacks that do not follow the typical four phases of a migraine attack or do not present the common symptoms of a typical migraine, then a doctor may diagnose them with atypical migraine.

According to a 2022 article, a doctor may diagnoseTrusted Source someone with atypical migraine if the attacks are missing two of the diagnostic criteria associated with a typical migraine, or if they do not follow the typical phases of migraine.

A healthcare professional may also ask someone about their personal and family medical history and perform a physical examination to rule out any other causes of the symptoms.

Treatment

Treatment for atypical migraine may involveTrusted Source identifying triggers and avoiding them if possible.

Immediate tips that may help relieve symptoms during an atypical migraine attack include:

• drinking plenty of fluids, especially if a person is vomiting
• resting or napping with the eyes closed in a dark and quiet room
• placing a cold compress on the forehead

A doctor may also recommend medications to help relieve symptoms. Some of these may includeTrusted Source:

• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• acetaminophen
• dopamine receptor antagonists
• triptans
• ditans and gepants

There are also several medicationsTrusted Source available that may prevent atypical migraine attacks before they occur such as beta blockers.

A person should speak with a healthcare professional about which treatments for atypical migraine may work best for them.

When to speak with a doctor

If a person is experiencing symptoms of atypical migraine such as vertigo, autonomic symptoms, and recurring headache episodes, they should contact a doctor who can help work out the underlying cause of the symptoms.

A person with a diagnosis of atypical migraine may findTrusted Source that their treatment plan is not proving to be effective. Should this be the case, a person should contact a doctor to review the steps of the treatment plan, any medications, and if there are alternative steps a person can take to help treat the condition.

People may find it helpful to make a headache or migraine attack diary to help log their symptoms, triggers, and treatment methods. This may help them and their doctor work out if any different treatment approaches are necessary.

Summary

Atypical migraine does not follow the four-phase pattern of a typical migraine, or it may not meet the ICHD3 migraine diagnostic criteria.

A person with atypical migraine may experience several symptoms that are not usually present with typical migraine, such as vertigo, aura without headache, and nasal congestion.

To treat the condition, a doctor may recommend a person avoids any known triggers for atypical migraine attacks. A doctor may also prescribe medications, such as NSAIDs and triptans, to help with symptoms.

A person should contact a healthcare professional if they are experiencing any atypical migraine symptoms, or if any current treatments a doctor has recommended do not seem to be helping with their symptoms.

Source - Medical News Today