Serum levels of adiponectin, CCL3/MIP-1α, and CCL5/RANTES discriminate migraine from tension-type headache patients

Níveis séricos de adiponectina, CCL3/MIP-1α e CCL5/RANTES discriminam pacientes com migrânea e cefaleia do tipo tensional

ABSTRACT

Objectives  Inflammatory molecules and neurotrophic factors are implicated in pain modulation; however, their role in primary headaches is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of serum biomarkers in migraine and tension-type headache.

Methods  This was a cross-sectional study. We measured serum levels of adiponectin, chemokines, and neurotrophic factors in patients with migraine and tension-type headache. Depression and anxiety symptoms, headache impact and frequency, and allodynia were recorded.

Results  We included sixty-eight patients with migraine and forty-eight with tension-type headache. Cutaneous allodynia (p = 0.035), CCL3/MIP-1α (p = 0.041), CCL5/RANTES (p = 0.013), and ADP (p = 0.017) were significantly higher in migraine than in tension-type headache. The differences occurred independently of anxiety and depressive symptoms, frequency and impact of headache, and the presence of pain.

Conclusions  This study showed higher CCL3/MIP-1α, CCL5/RANTES, and ADP levels in migraine in comparison with tension-type headache. Our findings suggest distinctive roles of these molecules in the pathophysiology of these primary headaches.

migraine disorders; tension-type headache; adiponectin; chemokines; neurotrophic factors