Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: Migraine headaches are a significant public health concern that takes its toll in personal discomfort, lost productivity and financial expense. Although the exact cause of migraine is still unknown, there is evidence of changes in the cerebral cortex and the visual centers as the underlying causes. KS observed that inserting red contact lenses in both eyes during a migraine attack afforded mild to significant relief to the migraine sufferer, which was tested in this study. Methods: This study was a randomized, prospective, interventional trial that included 29 patients with moderate to severe migraine headaches, which conformed to the International Headache Society (HIS) criteria. Patients were asked to rate their pain, nausea and visual symptoms on a scale of 1–10, 1 being no headache and 10 the worst headache they have ever experienced. The patients were randomized to first receive either red (treatment) or gray (control) contact lenses. Tint density was matched in all contact lenses. Sixteen patients were randomized to the treatment group (red contact lenses). Thirteen subjects were initially randomized to the control group (gray contact lenses) study and after one hour crossed over to the treatment group (red contact lenses). Patients were tested in a semi–dark room for 60 minutes. Repeated Measure ANOVAs compared patient responses to subjective questions regarding symptoms prior to the start of treatment and every 15 minutes for one hour after initiating treatment. After one month, patients were contacted and again questioned. Results: There were significant differences in the perception of pain P=0.007, nausea P=0.01 and visual symptoms P=0.007 for patients receiving the red treatment lenses versus the gray control lens at 60 minutes post treatment (N=13, paired t–test). In the cohort of 29 subjects who received the red lens, there was a significant lessening of symptoms over the one hour treatment for pain P<0.001, nausea P<0.001 and visual symptoms P<0.001, SS x time. In this study 72% of patients reported a positive therapeutic response to the red contact lenses one month after treatment. Conclusions: Red contact lenses might be a useful therapeutic modality as a primary or adjunctive therapy for treating cases of moderate to severe migraine headaches. The advantages of contact lens intervention are low side effects and low cost as compared to drug therapy. Patients such as pregnant women and the immuno–suppressed individuals who are unable to take conventional drug medications to relieve migraine headache may benefit from the novel red lens therapy.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials