Abstract
BackgroundIn recent years, the role of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in migraine pathogenesis has achieved considerable interest; however, to date findings are equivocal. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate biomarkers of oxidative stress in episodic and chronic migraineurs (EM and CM patients) and controls.MethodsForty-four patients with EM, 27 individuals with CM and 19 age-sex-matched controls were enrolled. After collecting data on demographic and headache characteristics, blood samples were collected and analyzed to detect serum levels of oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO)); total antioxidant capacity using Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay; and antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1)).ResultsSerum levels of CAT and SOD were significantly lower in the CM group than the EM group and controls. However, serum GPx-1 levels of the CM patients were slightly higher than the EM patients and controls (P-value≤0.001). CM patients had lower mean TEAC values than EM patients and controls. In addition, serum levels of NO and MDA were significantly elevated among subjects with CM compared to EM and control individuals (P-value≤0.001). Pearson correlation analysis revealed negative correlations between the number of days of having headaches per month and serum concentrations of the two antioxidant enzymes CAT (r = − 0.60, P-value< 0.001) and SOD (r = − 0.50, P-value< 0.001) as well as TEAC values (r = − 0.61, P-value< 0.001); however, there were positive correlations between headache days and serum GPx-1 levels (r = 0.46, P-value< 0.001), NO (r = 0.62, P-value< 0.001), and MDA (r = 0.64, P-value< 0.001).ConclusionPresent findings highlighted that chronic migraineurs had lower total non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity and higher oxidative stress than episodic migraineurs and control individuals. Although more studies are needed to confirm these data, applying novel prophylactic medications or dietary supplements with antioxidant properties could be promising in migraine therapy.
Highlights
In recent years, the role of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in migraine pathogenesis has achieved considerable interest; to date findings are equivocal
There was a significant difference in mean serum antioxidant capacity measured by the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay for episodic migraineurs and controls compared to the Chronic migraine (CM) patients
It was observed that chronic migraineurs had lower TEAC values than Episodic migraine (EM) and control individuals (P-value≤0.001) (Table 1 and Fig. 1b)
Summary
The role of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in migraine pathogenesis has achieved considerable interest; to date findings are equivocal. The objective of this study was to investigate biomarkers of oxidative stress in episodic and chronic migraineurs (EM and CM patients) and controls. Much effort has been made to elucidate migraine headache pathogenesis, its exact underlying mechanism remains to be understood. Nociceptive information is conducted from the meninges to the brain’s central region and the cortex through the trigeminovascular pathway. Headache attacks initiate with stimulation of nociceptive neurons. During this process neuropeptides with vasoactive properties (e.g. calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and pituitary adenylate cyclaseactivating peptide (PACAP)) are released and could result in vasodilatation of arteries, degranulation of mast cells and plasma leakage [7]
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