Dry eyes and migraines: is there really a correlation?

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neurology
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Migraine is a common neurological disorder.
• Dry eye disease affects a significant portion of the population.
• The relationship between migraine and dry eye disease requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess tear film function in migraine patients.
• To evaluate clinical symptoms associated with dry eye in individuals with migraines.
• To compare ocular surface health between migraineurs and controls.

Main Methods:

• An observational comparative study included 33 migraine patients and 33 controls.
• Ophthalmic examinations included tear break-up time, Schirmer test, and lissamine green staining.
• Ocular surface disease index scoring was used to quantify dry eye symptoms.

Main Results:

• Migraine patients exhibited significantly poorer dry eye test results compared to controls.
• Mean tear break-up time was shorter in the migraine group (7.75s vs 9.15s).
• Lissamine green staining scores were higher in migraineurs, indicating more ocular surface damage.

Conclusions:

• A higher frequency of dry eye disease was observed in patients with migraine.
• This suggests a potential association between migraine and dry eye disease.
• Dry eye syndrome may play a role in aggravating migraine attacks.