According to the report of an analysis conducted in the audio-vestibular unit of Alexandria main university hospital, non-paroxysmal positional nystagmus presents a statistically significant association with the presence of lactate peaks in the occipital lobe of vestibular migraine (VM) patients.

Dizziness is considered as one of the most frequent complaints within migraineurs.  Abnormal eye movements may be associated with dizziness in migraine patients. This analysis involved the evaluation of eye movement using the video head impulse test (vHIT) and videonystagmography (VNG), and to examine the occipital lobe metabolic profile of VM subjects. Patients were categorized into two groups; one group involved 25 VM patients (identified as per the recent criteria of Barany society) and other group involved 20 age-matched healthy subjects. Patients of both groups went through (a) A detailed history, vHIT in three planes, and VNG test, (b) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of inner ear and brain.

Twenty-eight per cent of the patient complained of positional vertigo and sixty-eight per cent of spontaneous vertigo. During the dizzy spell, 92% of the patients showed non-paroxysmal positional nystagmus. Further, seventy-two per cent of the patients showed unremarkable brain MRI. Ninety-two per cent showed a chemical shift in the occipital lobe. Occipital lobes of VM patients found to have lactate peaks, demonstrate that a central phenomenon generates the vHIT and VNG verdicts in such patients.