NCT05369910

How Can we Treat Photophobia in Migraine

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 21 (actual)
• Sponsor: Medical University of Vienna · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 45 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Photophobia, the aberrantly increased sensitivity to light, is a common symptom in migraine patients and light discomfort is frequently found as a trigger for migraine attacks. In behavioral studies, planned exposure to light was found to reduce headache in migraineurs with photophobia, potentially by increasing habituation to this migraine trigger. Here, neurophysiological mechanisms of light exposure versus light deprivation therapy in migraine patients are investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Migraine patients and healthy controls receive light exposure therapy (Flash) and light deprivation therapy (Dark) for one hour daily on 7 consecutive days, in a crossover design with a wash-out period of three months. Study participants keep a diary including items on interictal and ictal photophobia, headache frequency and severity 7 days before, during, and 7 days after the interventions. One week before and one day after both interventions, fMRI using flickering light in a block design is applied. Functional activation is analyzed at whole-brain level and habituation of the visual cortex (V1) is modeled with the initial amplitude estimate and the corrected habituation slope.

Conditions

• Migraine Disorders
• Photophobia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Light exposure (Flash)	Light exposure (Flash) is administered for one hour on 7 consecutive days. During the light exposure, participants are seated 120 cm in front of a white curtain that is illuminated by an LED light source (Dawe stroboscope type 1214B, 5 Hz).
BEHAVIORAL	Light deprivation (Dark)	Light deprivation (Dark) is administered for one hour on 7 consecutive days. During the Dark intervention, participants are seated in a room in complete darkness.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-04-01
• Primary completion: 2019-09-30
• Completion: 2019-09-30
• First posted: 2022-05-11
• Last updated: 2022-05-11