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Migraine significantly affects retina, choroid, according to study
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Migraine significantly affects deep ocular structures, including the retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer and choroid, according to a study.
Several studies have previously shown that migraine, both with aura (MwA) and without aura (MwoA), causes changes in the cerebral blood flow that inevitably reflect on the retina and choroid.
By using SD-OCT and enhanced depth imaging techniques (EDT), a group of researchers at the Ain Shams University of Cairo, Egypt, investigated these changes and how they correlate with type (MwA and MwoA), duration and severity of migraine.
Ninety patients with migraine diagnosed according the criteria of the Headache International Society were divided in two groups of 45 according to the presence or absence of aura and were compared to a third group of 40 healthy controls. Disease severity and duration were assessed using the Migraine Disability Assessment questionnaire.
Significant thinning was reported in all quadrants of the RNFL in patients with both types of migraine. The superior and inferior ganglion cell layer (GCL) were also significantly thinner as compared with controls. The choroid, being the most vascular structure of the eye, was also affected, with significant thinning in all quadrants.
“We found that MwA and MwoA share the same pathological effect on RNFL, GCL and choroid, due to vascular spasm that occurs not only in MwA but also in MwoA,” the authors wrote.
The severity and the duration of the disease, which ranged between 8 and 20 years in the study subjects, had an equally significant impact on RNFL and GCL thickness, while the duration of the disease had a stronger effect on choroidal thickness. – by Michela Cimberle
Disclosure: None of the authors have reported a conflict of interest.
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