title: Palinopsia in patients with migraine: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was aimed at investigating the frequency of the visual phenomenon of palinopsia (visual perseveration) in patients with migraine.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed 63 patients with migraine with aura (MwA), 137 patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) and 226 sex-age-matched healthy control subjects using an ad hoc structured interview/questionnaire. The interview was divided into four classes of variables for statistical testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Palinopsia occurred in 19/200 patients (9.5%); of them 10/63 had MwA and 9/137 MwoA (14.2% vs 6.6%, chi = 9.7, degrees of freedom = 1, p = 0.002). Patients with palinopsia had a significantly lower migraine attack frequency than those without this visual phenomenon (4.3 ± 0.3 vs 14.4 ± 0.2, z = 7.1, p < 0.0001). No healthy control subjects complained of palinopsia according to the structured interview/questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Palinopsia is probably under-diagnosed in patients with migraine. Further investigations are needed to assess whether migraineurs are particularly susceptible to the development of recurrent episodes of visual perseveration.
authors.affiliation: University of Perugia, Italy. vincenzobelcastro@libero.it
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Belcastro
authors.forename: Letizia Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cupini
authors.forename: Ilenia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Corbelli
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pieroni
authors.forename: Cataldo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Amore
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caproni
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gorgone
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferlazzo
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Palma
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sarchielli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calabresi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications*