Intercritical photophobia in the migraineous patient. Proposal for diagnostic criteria

Introduction: Photophobia is a symptom of abnormal light intolerance without pain sensation that requires an anamnesis and an examination to diagnose an underlying etiology. Basic procedure: This article focuses on 30 clinical cases with isolated intense photophobia and on the review of the literature. Objective: The purpose of this article is to establish diagnostic criteria for photophobia. Results: The etiology of photophobia appears to be at the level of the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells known as melanopsin cells and at a neurochemical level mediated by calcitonin-related peptide and the pituitary activating peptide cyclase. Conclusion: The treatment of photophobia could consist of monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin-related peptide and/or pituitary activating peptide cyclase. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. on behalf of Sociedad Espanola de Neurologia. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This article presents 30 clinical cases of photophobia and reviews the literature in order to establish diagnostic criteria for this condition. The results suggest that the underlying causes of photophobia may involve the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells as well as neurochemical factors like calcitonin-related peptide and the pituitary activating peptide cyclase. The treatment for photophobia could potentially involve the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting calcitonin-related peptide and/or pituitary activating peptide cyclase.