Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in primary headache disorders

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Otolaryngology
• Neurology

Background:

• Primary headache disorders, including migraine without aura (MoA), vestibular migraine (VM), and tension-type headache (TTH), are common neurological conditions.
• Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are used to assess vestibular and cochlear nerve function.
• Cervical VEMPs (cVEMPs) specifically evaluate the saccule and inferior vestibular nerve.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential differences in cVEMP responses among patients with MoA, VM, and TTH.
• To compare cVEMP findings in these headache groups with those of healthy controls.
• To determine if cVEMP abnormalities correlate with vestibular dysfunction in primary headache disorders.

Main Methods:

• The study included 20 patients with MoA, 24 with VM, and 20 with TTH, alongside 30 healthy controls.
• cVEMP testing measured p13 and n23 peak latencies, p13-n23 amplitude, and amplitude asymmetry.
• Caloric testing was performed to assess horizontal semicircular canal function and its relation to cVEMP results.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences in cVEMP latencies or amplitudes were found between patient groups and healthy controls.
• Amplitude asymmetry exceeding control levels was not observed in any patient group.
• Five of 24 VM patients (20.8%) exhibited unilateral caloric hypofunction, indicating horizontal semicircular canal dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• Patients with MoA and TTH demonstrated normal cVEMP profiles and no vestibular abnormalities.
• While a subset of VM patients showed caloric hypofunction, their saccular function, as assessed by cVEMPs, appeared unaffected.
• The findings suggest that primary headache disorders are generally associated with a normal interictal cVEMP response.