Electroencephalogram and visual evoked potential changes in patients with primary headaches

Abstract

This study was a case/control study in which a total of (450) subjects, into (150) with primary headache (male and female) and this was included in this study, 128 with migraine headache, 22 with non-migraine headache and 300 were normal, as control group. The electrophysiological tests were done at the neurophysiology unit of Mirjan Teaching hospital in Babylon City, during the period from 28 / October/ 2014 until 22 / May/2015. This study reveals that involvement of the migraine are more than that of the non-migraine in headache patients when compared with control group and when compared between the migraine and non-migraine headache patients. The most common EEG changes in headaches patients were diffuse slowing and spike wave of back ground activity, in such a way that 54 (42.2%) migraine patients had abnormal EEG changes, in comparison to 4 (18.2%) of non-migraine patients. Visual evoked potential (VEP) was dependable marker for central nervous system affection in primary headache (migraine and non-migraine) and the most common abnormalities were prolonged latency and amplitude is stay in normal ranged (5-10) µ.volt.