Central and Peripheral Visual Fields in Patients with Migraine

Abstract

Purpose: To determine if patients with migraine show clinically apparent visual field deficits in the peripheral visual field compared to healthy controls. Methods: Normal observers (n=25; mean age 41 y, range 15-67 y) and patients with migraine (n=12, mean age 48 y, range 21-55 y) were examined with a fully automated kinetic perimetry program (Octopus 900, Haag-Streit, Switzerland) on two separate study visits within two weeks. The program examined 3 isopters (I4e, I2e, I1e) at stimulus velocities of 5°, 4°, and 3°/s respectively. For every isopter, 12 stimulus vectors were presented at meridians spaced 30° apart, in random order, and each isopter was measured 3 times. Patients with migraine had been diagnosed by a neuro-opthalmologist according to criteria of the International Headache Society. Results: Differences in mean isopter radius between migraine observers and healthy controls were small (< 1.3°) and not statistically significant (P>0.05, Mann-Whitney U). No learning or practice effects were observed between study visits, and AKP showed reasonable repeatability for all three isopters. Conclusion: Patients with migraine did not demonstrate decreased peripheral visual fields in comparison to controls. This study had sufficient power (90%) to detect a group difference in mean isopter radius of approximately 2°.