Randomised, controlled blink reflex in patients with migraine and tension type headache

Objectives: To investigate the latencies, amplitudes of R1, R2i and R2k responses and R2 habituation; to compare the groups with each other and with the placebo group and to demonstrate new evidences on migraine and tension-type headache TTH mechanisms. Methods: This analytical study was carried out among 40 migraine patients who were admitted to Yuzuncu Yil University, Medical Faculty, Neurology Clinics between May 2009 and December 2009, with or without aura according to the diagnostic criteria of International Headache Society 2004 classification. Forty TTH patients, who were diagnosed with TTH were included, and 40 control group subjects were formed according to the same demographic data. SPSSv13 was used for Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients was used for the determination of the relation between the groups and categorical. Results: Mean age was 33.04 ± 9.07 years. An average of RR2k latency was significantly high in migraine group comparing with TTH and the control groups, and in TTH group comparing with the control group. Similarly, the average of LR2k latency was found to be significantly higher in migraine group than TTH and the control groups, and significantly higher in TTH group than the control group. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that brainstem and trigeminovascular connections play an important role in migraine pathogenesis and that central mechanisms play a role in TTH and concerning these two diseases.