Serum levels of endocan, claudin-5 and cytokines in migraine

M. Yücel, D. Kotan, G. Gurol Çiftçi, I.H. Çiftçi, H.I. Cikriklar

Department of Emergency Medicine, Sakarya University, Faculty of Medicine, Sakarya, Turkey. drmrtycl@gmail.com

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• Neurology

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial dysfunction is involved in inflammatory disorders, migration, angiogenesis, and tumor progression. There is a known relationship between migraine and inflammation; however, there are conflicting data as to whether there is a link between migraine and endothelial dysfunction. The current study aimed to determine the relationships between migraine and levels of serum Endocan (ESM-1), Claudin-5 (CLDN5), IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α levels, which are proven indicators of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation in patients with migraine.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-one patients and 24 healthy subjects were included in this study. Participants underwent thorough physical and neurological evaluations, and levels of serum ESM-1, CLDN5, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were measured for each patient.

RESULTS: The levels of ESM-1, CLDN5, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly higher in the migraine attack group than in the control group (p: 0.006, p: 0.002, p: 0.002, p: 0.003, p: 0.036, respectively). Additionally, there were significant differences in the ESM-1 levels of the visual analog scale (VAS) subgroup (p = 0.041), and there were moderate differences in the CLDN5 levels of the VAS subgroup (p = 0.064).

CONCLUSIONS: High serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the migraine attack group indicate that inflammation plays a major role in migraine pathogenesis. In particular, the high ESM-1 and CLDN5 levels in patients with migraine suggest that inflammation should be investigated further, it may be a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of migraine.

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