Ocular and Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials in Patients With Vestibular Migraine

Abstract

Objective: 

To evaluate the relationship between normal and abnormal ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) in patients with and without vestibular migraine (VM).

Study Design: 

Retrospective review of oVEMP and cVEMP results in patients with vestibular disorders who were assessed clinically and completed vestibular function studies. Data were extracted from a deidentified RedCap Repository.

Setting: 

Tertiary care multispecialty medical center.

Patients: 

Subjects were 212 consecutive adults meeting prespecified inclusion criteria who were evaluated in the Balance Disorders Clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between 2011 and 2017. Patients with bilaterally absent VEMPs were excluded from the study.

Intervention(s): 

None.

Main Outcome Measure(s): 

Proportions of subjects with or without VM in one of the following four test outcomes: normal cVEMP/normal oVEMP, abnormal cVEMP/abnormal oVEMP, abnormal cVEMP/normal oVEMP, and normal cVEMP/abnormal oVEMP.

Results: 

There was a significant relationship between VM and cVEMP and oVEMP test outcomes.

Conclusion: 

Patients with VM are more likely than subjects with vestibular disorders other than migraine to exhibit normal cVEMP responses in the presence of unilaterally abnormal oVEMP responses. Such a VEMP pattern may be a biomarker of VM and further supports a possible pathophysiologic relationship between the utriculo-ocular reflex and VM.