Migraine sufferers may experience relief from symptoms while wearing precision-tinted lenses, according to a new study from researchers at Michigan State University.
CBC News reports that scientists have long prescribed tinted lenses to lessen migraine pain, but they have not known why the lenses work.
The new study sought to pinpoint the effects of the lenses by employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (or fMRI) in search of abnormal brain activity in people with migraines.
Subjects in the main test group viewed a variety of patterns while wearing the lenses, and control groups wore grey and non-precision colored lenses. The patterns included both stress-inducing striped patterns and more benign shapes and colors that produced less irritation, according to CBC News.
According to lead researcher Jie Huang and his colleagues, those who wore the special lenses experienced significant relief from the abnormal brain patterns. While viewing the stress-inducing patterns, about 40 percent reported a level of relief when wearing any sort of lens, while 70 percent reported the same when wearing the precision lenses. For the more benign patterns, none of the lenses made an appreciable difference.
"The specific characteristics of activation we recorded could provide a potential biomarker for identifying those migraine patients suffering visual cortical hyper-activation," said Huang. "This biomarker could prove useful not only for further evaluation of tinted lenses but also for studying the effectiveness of drugs to prevent migraine headaches."
