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Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer and macular changes in patients with migraine

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, macular changes (central subfield thickness (CST), cube average thickness (CAT), cube volume (CV) in patients with migraine using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to assess if there was any correlation with white matter lesions (WML). In this prospective case–control study, RNFL, GCL thickness and macular changes of 19 migraine patients with aura (MA), 41 migraine without aura (MO) and 60 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were measured using OCT device. OCT measurements were taken at the same time of the day to minimize the effects of diurnal variation. The average, inferior and superior quadrant RNFL thickness were significantly thinner in patients with migraine (p = 0.017, p = 0.010, p = 0.048). There was also a significant difference between patients with and without aura in the mean and superior quadrant RNFL thickness (p = 0.02, p = 0.043).While there was a significant thinning in CST and CAT in patients with migraine (p = 0.020), there were no significant difference in GCL measurements (p = 0.184). When the groups were compared to the control group, there were significant differences between MA and the control group regarding average, superior and inferior quadrant RNLF thickness (p < 0.001, p = 0.025, p < 0.001). On the other hand, there were significant differences between MO and the control group regarding average and inferior faces (p = 0.037, p = 0.04). When OCT measurements were evaluated according to the frequency of attacks, CST and GCL thickness were significantly thinner in patients who had more than four attacks a month (p = 0.024, p = 0.014). In patients with WML, only CV measurements were significantly thinner than migraine patients without WML (p = 0.014). The decreased RNFL, CST, CAT and CV of the migraine patients might be related to the vascular pathology of the disease. Because WML was not correlated with the same measurements except CV, we think that further studies are needed to evaluate the etiopathologic relationship between OCT measurements and WML in migraine patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic of Neurology, Adatıp Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey

    Abdulkadir Tunç

  2. Clinic of Neurology, Sakarya University Education and Research Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey

    Belma Doğan Güngen & Yeşim Güzey Aras

  3. Clinic of Neurology, Muş State Hospital, Muş, Turkey

    Ferhat Evliyaoğlu

  4. Clinic of Neurology, Istanbul Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Aysel Kaya Tekeşin

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  1. Abdulkadir Tunç
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  2. Belma Doğan Güngen
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  3. Ferhat Evliyaoğlu
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  4. Yeşim Güzey Aras
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  5. Aysel Kaya Tekeşin
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Correspondence to Abdulkadir Tunç.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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A detailed written informed consent form was obtained from each individual before they were participated in the study.

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Tunç, A., Güngen, B.D., Evliyaoğlu, F. et al. Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer and macular changes in patients with migraine. Acta Neurol Belg 117, 121–129 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-016-0715-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-016-0715-1

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