Ocular pulse amplitude and retina nerve fiber layer thickness in migraine patients without aura

To evaluate the ocular pulse amplitude (OPA), the posterior pole asymmetry analysis (PPAA), the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, the ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, macular thickness and visual field testing in migraine patients without aura.

In this prospective, cross-sectional and comparative study 38 migraine patients and 44 age and sex matched controls were included. OPA was measured by dynamic contour tonometry (DCT), PPAA, RNFL, GCL and macular thickness were measured by Heidelberg Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) and standard perimetry was performed using the Humphrey automated field analyzer.

The difference in OPA was not statistically significant between the two groups (p ≥ 0.05). In the PPAA there was no significant difference between two hemispheres in each eye (p ≥ 0.05). The RNFL thickness was significantly reduced in the temporal and nasal superior sectors in the migraine group (p ≤ 0.05). The GCL and macular thickness measurements were thinner in migraine patients but the difference between groups was not statistically significant (p ≥ 0.05). There was no correlation between RNFL, GCL, macular thickness measurements and OPA values. There was no significant difference in the mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) between the two groups (p ≥ 0.05).

Migraine patients without aura have normal OPA values, no significant asymmetry of the posterior pole and decreased peripapillary RNFL thickness in the temporal and nasal superior sectors compared with controls. These findings suggest that there is sectorial RNFL thinning in migraine patients without aura and pulsative choroidal blood flow may not be affected during the chronic course of disease.