Vestibular migraine: comparative analysis between diagnostic criteria

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Ophthalmology

Background:

• Vestibular migraine (VM) is strongly associated with migraine.
• Diagnostic criteria for VM were established in 2001 and revised in 2012.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare the diagnostic power of 2001 and 2012 VM criteria.
• Evaluate the therapeutic effect of VM prophylaxis using both criteria sets.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of patient charts from a specialized VM clinic.

Main Results:

• The 2012 criteria were more specific, diagnosing VM in 77.8% of patients compared to 87.7% under the 2001 criteria.
• Prophylactic treatment for VM demonstrated efficacy in patients diagnosed by either criterion set, and even in those not meeting diagnostic criteria.

Conclusions:

• The 2012 VM criteria narrowed the diagnosis, primarily due to stricter requirements for dizziness type, intensity, and duration.
• Migraine patients with associated dizziness showed improvement with VM prophylactic treatment, even without meeting formal diagnostic criteria.