Event Abstract

Visual and Auditory Evoked Potentials in migraine: sensitivity and specificity as diagnostic tools

  • 1 IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (Isernia), Italy, Italy
  • 2 University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • 3 University of Padua, Italy
  • 4 National Institute of Neurosurgery, Hungary
  • 5 IRCCS Bietti Foundation, Italy
  • 6 University "La Sapienza", Italy
  • 7 University of Liège - CHR Citadelle, University Dept Neurology, Belgium
  • 8 University of Zurich, Switzerland

Introduction: There are at present no reliable instrumental tests for the diagnosis of migraine. Many migraineurs are characterized interictally by a habituation deficit of visual evoked potentials (VEP) and/or increased intensity dependence of auditory evoked potentials (IDAP). In this retrospective study we tested the usefulness of VEP and IDAP as diagnostic tools in episodic migraineurs (EM). Methods: We analyzed recordings from 360 healthy volunteers (HV) and 624 EM. VEP50 (5 blocks of 50 responses) were obtained in 77 HV and 231 EM, VEP100 (6 blocks of 100 responses) in 240 HV and 280 EM, IDAP in 86 HV and 328 EM. Some subjects underwent both VEP and IDAP tests. Thresholds were calculated by Receiver Operating Curve analysis, and used to calculate sensitivity, specificity and efficacy of each test. Results: Sensitivity was 61.0% for VEP50, 61.4% for VEP100 and 45.7% for IDAP. Specificity was 77.9% for VEP50 and VEP100 and 87.2% for IDAP. Efficacy was 65.3% for VEP50, 69.0% for VEP100 and 54.3% for IDAP. In subjects who underwent both VEP and IDAP recordings, abnormality of at least one of them had a 83.4%, sensitivity, 66.7% specificity and 81.1% efficacy. Conclusion: Taken alone, none of VEP or IDAP has sufficient diagnostic efficacy. However, when both tests are combined in the same patient, abnormality of at least one of them is highly predictive of migraine, suggesting that VEP and IDAP can contribute to the migraine diagnosis.

Keywords: Migraine Disorders, Evoked Potentials, Visual, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Habituation study, diagnostic test

Conference: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Clinical Neuroscience

Citation: Ambrosini A, Kisialiou A, Finos L, Afra J, Coppola G, Di Clemente L, Iezzi E, Magis D, Sandor PS, Sasso D'Elia T, Viganò A, Fataki M, Pierelli F and Schoenen J (2014). Visual and Auditory Evoked Potentials in migraine: sensitivity and specificity as diagnostic tools. Conference Abstract: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00070

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Received: 02 Jul 2014; Published Online: 16 Aug 2014.

* Correspondence: Dr. Anna Ambrosini, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (Isernia), Italy, Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy, anna.ambrosini@neuromed.it