Olfactory acuity in chronic migraine: a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Sensory Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology

Background:

• Olfactory impairment is a known feature of neurological disorders.
• Smell hypersensitivity is established in chronic migraine, but olfactory acuity is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure olfactory acuity in chronic migraine patients.
• To compare olfactory acuity between migraineurs and controls at baseline and during migraine episodes.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 50 chronic migraine subjects and 50 age/sex-matched controls.
• Utilized the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) for olfactory acuity assessment.
• Screened all participants for odor sensitivity and allodynia.

Main Results:

• Migraineurs performed worse than controls on olfactory tests (P=.047 and P=.01).
• A higher percentage of migraineurs exhibited abnormal olfaction at baseline (18/48) compared to controls (9/50).
• No significant change in olfactory acuity was observed between migraine and non-migraine periods for patients.

Conclusions:

• Chronic migraine patients demonstrate poorer olfactory acuity compared to controls.
• Individuals with chronic migraine are more prone to baseline olfactory dysfunction.
• Olfactory acuity does not significantly fluctuate with migraine status in chronic migraine patients.