Multimodal retinal imaging in migraine: Structural and vascular correlates of clinical characteristics
Asma Khallouli, Ahmed Jabri, Atf Ben Abderazek, Yassin Oueslati, Afef MaalejAbstract:
BACKGROUND:
To evaluate retinal structural and vascular changes using optical coherence 15 tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCT-A) in migraine patients and to explore 16 their associations with clinical and epidemiological characteristics.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS:
This cross-sectional, comparative study included 136 eyes from 68 subjects, divided into 68 eyes from migraine patients and 68 eyes from controls. Participants underwent full ophthalmological examinations, OCT, and OCT-A.
RESULTS:
Patients had a mean age of 35.8 years and a female-to-male ratio of 1.83. Migraine with aura was present in 47.1% of cases. A reduction in upper retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was found in migraine patients, with no other significant OCT or OCT-A differences compared to controls. Correlations were observed between OCT metrics and disease duration, severity, and attack frequency, though no correlations were noted with laterality.
CONCLUSION:
Optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography–angiography may serve as valuable biomarkers for diagnosing, monitoring, and predicting outcomes in both aura and nonaura migraines.