Vestibular Migraine

Many people with migraine also experience tinnitus - a persistent ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears - and research suggests these conditions share underlying biological mechanisms, including a protein called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) that is active in both the brain and the inner ear. COMPACT-PM is a randomized trial comparing two classes of migraine preventive medications in adults with bothersome tinnitus and a history of migraine: anti-CGRP therapies (newer injectable or oral agents that block CGRP or its receptor) versus conventional migraine preventives (antidepressants including amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and venlafaxine; antihypertensives including propranolol, verapamil, and candesartan; and the anticonvulsant topiramate). Participants are randomly assigned - like a coin flip - to one of the two treatment groups; neither group receives a placebo, as both receive active migraine treatment. The study's primary outcome is change in the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) over 24 weeks, with additional measures including hearing tests, balance assessments, auditory brainstem response testing, and a comprehensive symptom diary. The study is conducted at the Stanford Ear Institute and is funded by a philanthropic gift to the Department of Otolaryngology - Head \& Neck Surgery at Stanford University.

Vestibular migraine (VM) is the most common cause of episodic dizziness in children and adults. Dizziness, especially in conjunction with other migraine symptoms (headache, photophobia, phonophobia, etc.) can profoundly decrease quality of life, so effective treatment of VM is of utmost importance. Unfortunately, there is sparse research on effective treatment methods for VM, and even less for vestibular migraine of childhood (VMC), for which diagnostic criteria was recently defined by the Bárány Society in 2021. Lifestyle changes are often a large part of the treatment plan, and pharmacological treatment is also common, but their efficacies in treating VMC are less than ideal. In truth, there is yet to be a "gold-standard" medication or other treatment method for VMC. There is a dire need for structured research on the efficacy of different treatments, both lifestyle and pharmacological, in treating pediatric patients with vestibular migraine. However, in order to conduct this research, a validated inventory to objectively and reliably measure vestibular migraine symptoms in children is required. Existing validated measures often used to assess vestibular migraine in children, do not account for the wide array of other symptoms associated with pediatric vestibular migraine. The Vestibular Migraine Patient Assessment Tool and Handicap Inventory (VM-PATHI) - pronounced "Vempathy" - is a symptom inventory designed by Dr. Jeffrey Sharon and colleagues specifically to assess VM in adults. His group also worked to estimate a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the VM-PATHI in adults, finding that a change in VM-PATHI score of 6 points or more likely demonstrates an authentic clinical change in patient condition. This study aims to validate the VM-PATHI for adolescents with VM and estimate a MCID for the VM-PATHI in adolescent patients with vestibular migraine.

Aim of this work was to assess the role of polymorphisms belonging to genes involved in the regulation of ionic homeostasis in Caucasian patients with Ménière Disease (MD) and compare results with a cohort of patients affected by vestibular migraine and a cohort of non vestibular subjects

Both persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) and vestibular migraine (VM) are common diagnoses in patients presenting to physicians for evaluation of vestibular symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo. Although they are most often described in the adult population, they are also common in children and adolescents with dizziness. Chronic dizziness profoundly affects quality of life, often keeping children out of school and inhibiting their participation in the normal activities of childhood and adolescence. Overall, chronic dizziness is suspected to be due in large part to a "rewiring" of the brain that alters how cues related to balance and orientation are processed, with overreliance on visual inputs to maintain balance and equilibrium being a common development. Thus, chronic dizziness, especially that which is due to PPPD, is often caused by visual triggers. A multi-modal approach is often taken to treat chronic dizziness, attempting to recalibrate this maladaptive "rewiring" and return the sensory system to normal function. Given the role that visual inputs play in developing and perpetuating chronic dizziness, habituation to visual stimuli should be a significant component to treatment. Treatments often include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), systematic desensitization exposure response prevention (SDERP), and biofeedback therapy (BFB). However, these visually provoked symptoms are often resistant to treatment. One reason for this may be that visual stimuli are difficult to replicate in the clinic or office. One way to address this gap in treatment is through virtual reality (VR) technology, which immerses patients in realistic visual environments. VR has not been explicitly described in the treatment of PPPD or chronic dizziness, but it has been piloted, and shown to be effective, in the rehabilitation of peripheral vestibular dysfunction. This study aims to integrate VR into the current PPPD/chronic dizziness techniques of CBT, SDERP, and BFB. The investigators will use a commercially available VR headset, which enables the use of VR in the office setting in a relatively low-cost form of VR technology. This study will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of VR in conjunction with CBT, SDERP, and BFB to investigate if VR technology enhances previously established effective treatments to reduce chronic dizziness and PPPD.

Vestibular migraine is a common cause of repeated dizziness, imbalance, and headaches that affects about three percent of Canadians. Many people do not find relief from current medications, leaving them with long term problems in balance and daily function. This study will test a new, non drug based treatment called electrical vestibular stimulation (EVS). EVS delivers gentle, safe electrical signals behind the ears to activate the brain's vestibular pathways. Fifty adults with vestibular migraine will take part. Half will receive real stimulation, and half will receive a sham (placebo) treatment. Each participant will attend six sessions over two weeks. Around the treatment period, they will record dizziness and migraine symptoms in a daily diary and complete questionnaires and balance tests using motion sensors. The main goal is to determine whether EVS can be delivered safely and comfortably in adults with vestibular migraine and whether participants can complete the sessions and assessments as planned. Results will also show whether symptoms or balance improve, providing essential information to design a larger clinical trial and, ultimately, develop new, accessible treatments for dizziness and migraine.

Vestibular migraine is a phenotype of migraine, characterized by more prominent vertigo symptoms compared to headache. Treatments for VM are mainly divided into two categories: acute treatment and preventive treatment. Acute treatment aims to reduce the severity and duration of a single episode, while preventive treatment aims to decrease the frequency, severity, and duration of attacks. Current acute treatments are primarily divided into pain relief and anti-dizziness, with specific drugs such as triptans and ergots being applicable for pain relief, but only betahistine has weak evidence for anti-dizziness, and relevant clinical evidence is very scarce. Preventive treatment mainly refers to migraine preventive treatments, with recommended medications including traditional drugs like topiramate, flunarizine, propranolol, etc., but the efficacy and safety of these drugs are limited. CGRP-targeted drugs are believed to play a role in the preventive treatment of VM, and there are related literature reports, but most are small-sample studies or retrospective studies. This study aims to explore the real-world efficacy of CGRP-targeted drugs in the acute and preventive treatment of VM through a prospective real-world study.

In the Chinese Headache and Vertigo Registration Study, patients aged 4-99 years with headache (primary headache and secondary headache such as migraine and tension type headache), vertigo (vertigo diseases such as vestibular migraine) and chronic pain (fibromyalgia and other diseases) were collected. The biomarkers, imaging features, right-to-left shunt of the heart (lung), genetic characteristics, treatment, and outcome (in relation to other diseases) of headache-related diseases were studied, and long-term follow-up was planned.

In the International Headache and Vertigo Registration Study, patients aged 4-99 years with headache (primary headache and secondary headache such as migraine and tension type headache), vertigo (vertigo diseases such as vestibular migraine) and chronic pain (fibromyalgia and other diseases) were collected. The biomarkers, imaging features, right-to-left shunt of the heart (lung), genetic characteristics, treatment, and outcome (in relation to other diseases) of headache-related diseases were studied, and long-term follow-up was planned.

Vestibular migraine (VM) is one of the most common vestibular disorders, affecting 1.0% to 2.7% of the general population1, 7% of patients with definite migranous vertigo in dizziness clinics2, as well as 10.3% of VM patients in headache clinics3; 65% to 85% of VM patients are female1. Despite the relative prevalence of vestibular migraine, evidence-based medicine remains scarce. Two Cochrane reviews published in 2023 found that there is almost no evidence to support the use of medications for the acute treatment or preventive treatment of VM4,5. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has been established as an excellent target for the treatment of migraine. Animal studies suggest a link between CGRP and vestibular disorders. A prospective observational cohort study found that monoclonal antibodies targeting CGRP receptors and ligands were very effective for vestibular migraine (VM), with 90% of participants experiencing at least a 50% reduction in vertigo attacks6. A small-scale prospective randomized controlled trial showed that a monoclonal antibody targeting a CGRP ligand significantly reduced the number of dizziness days per month in VM patients compared to placebo7. The efficacy of CGRP small molecule antagonists for the preventive and acute treatment of migraines has been widely recognized8,9. Therefore, we speculate that Rimegepant is effective for the preventive and acute treatment of vestibular migraine. By focusing on a large sample RCT, our study can offer new evidence-based treatment options for patients with vestibular migraine. This is crucial, as many patients with vestibular migraine may not respond well to conventional migraine treatments. Our findings could guide clinicians in choosing more effective therapeutic strategies. Specifically in acute treatment of vestibular migraine, triptans have failed to show superiority when compared to placebo in treatment vestibular migraine symptoms10. Prochlorperazine, a vestibular sedative, is widely used for acute treatment of vestibular migraine but is known to chronify symptoms11. Should rimegepant demonstrate superiority to placebo in this study, rimegepant could potentially become the first-line treatment for vestibular migraine across the world.