Intravascular laser irradiation of blood as novel migraine treatment: an observational study

BACKGROUND: Migraine is one of four major chronic diseases that cause disability. Decreases in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) occur during migraine attacks. Laser therapy is extensively employed in treating other vascular diseases; nevertheless, its effectiveness in migraine management remains largely unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of low-level intravascular laser irradiation of blood (ILIB) therapy in patients with migraine. METHODS: We performed an observational case–control study in 24 patients suffering from migraine. Patients were divided into an ILIB treatment group and a traditional rehabilitation group. This study performed clinical assessments and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) prior to and after the treatment and 1 month later. Changes in rCBF-SPECT between groups and between timepoints were compared to clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Nine patients undergoing rehabilitation and fifteen patients undergoing ILIB were studied from baseline to 1 month follow-up. The ILIB group, visual analog scale for pain (P = 0.001), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (P = 0.003), and Athens Insomnia Scale (P < 0.001) symptom scores significantly improved after treatment. SPECT imaging showed a 1.27 ± 0.27 fold increase in rCBF after ILIB treatment, and no significant differences in the rehabilitation group. CONCLUSIONS: Low-level ILIB therapy is associated with better clinical and vascular outcomes, and may be a feasible treatment option for migraine. Although our sample size was small, our data provide a starting point for migraine laser therapy research. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40001-023-01438-3.