India News | Blood Flow Changes in Eyes May Influence Visual Symptoms of Migraine: Study

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Changes in blood flow in the retina of the eye could explain why some migraine patients experience visual symptoms, a study has found.

The retina is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some mollusks.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Man Arrested for Posting Morphed Photos of PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath.

The findings, published in the journal Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, could represent a long-sought observable marker for migraines that doctors can use to aid in the clinical treatment of the condition.

While patients with migraines often experience symptoms such as pain around the eye, sensitivity to light, blind spots and visual blurring, the mechanisms behind those symptoms have not been well understood.

Also Read | Ram Mandir Special: Pregnant Women in Kanpur Want to Give Birth on Ayodhya Ram Temple Inauguration Day.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles in the US used a non-invasive imaging technique, known as optical coherence tomography angiography, or OCTA, to visualise changes in the retinal blood vessels of migraine patients both during and between migraine attacks.

The imaging was performed on 37 migraine patients with aura symptoms, 30 migraine patients without aura symptoms and 20 healthy patients for a control group.

The researchers found that blood flow decreases in the retina during migraine attacks for both migraine patients with and without aura symptoms.

However, patients with aura symptoms were found to have lower blood flow in certain areas of the retina compared to patients without aura symptoms, fhe researchers said.

Additionally, asymmetrical blood flow in the retinas was also correlated with which side of the head that migraine patients experienced pain, they said.

The findings could indicate why some patients experience visual symptoms and may represent a biomarker for migraine attacks, according to the researchers. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)