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Updated: May 7, 2026
Impression Cytology of the Lid Wiper Area
Published on: August 9, 2016
Conjunctival Impression Cytology and Dry Eye Parameters in Migraine Patients
Mustafa Altas1, Pembe Oltulu1, Selman Belviranli2
1Department of Neurology, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Introduction/Background:
Migraine is a chronic neurovascular inflammatory disorder involving complex mechanisms such as trigeminovascular system activation and neuroinflammation. In addition to headache, migraine may be associated with ophthalmic manifestations that are often overlooked. Dry eye disease is a multifactorial inflammatory disorder of the ocular surface characterized by tear film instability. Recent evidence suggests a potential association between migraine and dry eye, possibly through shared neurovascular and inflammatory pathways.
Objective:
In this study, it was aimed to compare ocular surface changes and dry eye parameters between migraine patients and healthy individuals.
Methods And Materials:
The participants of the present cross-sectional comparative study are 30 migraine patients and 31 age and gender matched healthy individuals. The demographic and clinical data of migraine patients were recorded. Ocular surface changes were evaluated using Schirmer I test, tear break-up time (TBUT), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) grades were assessed and results were compared between the two groups.
Results:
CIC degrees of the migraine patients were higher than the control group (p<0.001). CIC assessment of the migraine group revealed that ten patients (33.3%) were of grade II-III, whereas the CIC assessment of two (6.5%) participants in the control group was grade II. Grade III CIC was not determined in the control group. TBUT in the migraine group was lower compared to the control group (p=0.023) and Schirmer I was (p=0.013) lower and OSDI score higher (p<0.001). In the migraine group, there was an inverse correlation between CIC grade, Schirmer I test (p=0.001, p=-0.559) and TBUT (p<0.001, p=-0.778).
Conclusion:
Objective signs and subjective symptoms of dry eye are common in patients with migraine. Abnormal CIC evaluation findings such as morphological changes in the bulbar conjunctiva, goblet cell loss, and squamous metaplasia suggest the presence of inflammation. These findings too, support the hypothesis that dry eye and changes in the ocular surface may play a role in the pathogenesis of migraine.
