Papers of the Week

Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders associated with recurrent attacks of moderate to severe headache. Oxidative stress may play an important role in migraine pathogenesis. This study aimed to measure and compare the serum levels of Selenium, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde) MDA (in migraine patients and healthy individuals. This case-control study was performed on 31 migraine patients and 30 age and gender-matched healthy controls. The severity of headache was assessed with a standard questionnaire, and the serum levels of Selenium (Se), MDA, and TAC were measured via biochemical methods. The odds of migraine were calculated across quartile of Se and oxidative stress biomarkers via binary logistic regression. Migraine patients had a significant lower Se levels (81.06 ± 8.66 vs. 88.94 ± 10.23 μg/L, P = 0.002) and a significant higher MDA levels (3.04 ± 1.74 vs. 2.06 ± 0.59 nmol/ml, P = 0.005) compared to healthy participants. Although serum TAC levels (1.34 ± 0.34 vs.1.37 ± 0.33 mmol/L, P = 0.755) were not significantly different between migraine patients rather than healthy subjects. Individuals in the lowest quartile of Se levels were about eleven times more likely to have migraine than those in the highest quartile (OR: 11.2; 95%CI: 1.57 to 80.2; P-trend: 0.016). Besides, being in the highest quartile of the serum MDA level, the odds of having migraine increases 15.4 times compared to the lowest quartile (OR = 15.4, 95%CI: 1.1 to 221, P = 0.044). No significant association was found between TAC and migraine. The lower Se and MDA levels in migraine patients gives rise to the probability which oxidant status may play an underlying role in migraine pathophysiology.