Evaluation of the Retina and Optic Discs of Patients with Chronic and Episodic Migraine using Optical Coherence Tomography and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Objective: Migraine is a very common,recurring, usually unilateral, severe, pulsating, and transient
headache disorder, which causes temporary disability. Migraine has two main types: with aura and
without aura. Abnormal retinal and optic disc pathologies in migraine patients were previously reported
by using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
In the present study, it was suggested that the changes foundin the retina and optic disc mightindicate a
functional disorder in chronic (with and without aura) and episodic (with and without aura) migraine. It
is also emphasized that these changes might be useful for early diagnosis and follow-up of the disease,
as well as for the development of new treatments.
Method: In total, 60 individuals were involved in the present study, including 28 chronic migraine
patients (24 female, 4 male, 16 with aura, 12 without aura) and 32 episodic migraine patients (26 female,
6 male, 21 with aura, 11 without aura), who were diagnosed with migraine and whose migraine types
were determinedby using the criteria set by the International Headache Society (IHS) in 2013. The
control group consisted of 48 healthy volunteers (34 female, 14 male) aged between 18 and 45 years,
who applied to the ophthalmology clinic. The retinas and optic discs of the patients were examined by
optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) at our
ophthalmology clinic. A double-blind randomized analysis was performed for the patient data and the
data were compared to control group data of similar gender and age groups.
Results: Examining the demographic data, no statistically significant difference was found between the
migraine patients and the healthy controls in terms of age, gender, migraine history, and migraine type.
However, using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), it was determined that the mean vertical and
horizontal cup-to-disk (c/d) ratios at the optic disc were significantly impaired in patients compared to
the control group. Moreover, using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), significant
reductions in vessel density (VD) were detected in the foveal, parafoveal, perifoveal areas and in the
superficial and deep capillary plexuses (SCP and DCP) of the patients.
Conclusion: It is thought that these findings might be associated with a vasculopathy developing due
to a pathology in the autonomic nervous system or impairments in the cerebral, ocular, or systemic
circulation. The authors believe that the results achieved in the present study could be useful in the
diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of the disease.
