Abstract

The most important primary headaches are migraine. Migraine has a prevalence of 10% in the general population and its societal costs are high. The precise mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of migraine are still elusive. Nitric oxide (NO) is believed to play a key role in migraine pathogenesis. In this study, we compared migraine patients with healthy controls by measuring plasma nitrite levels in order to investigate the effects of nitric oxide in migraine patients during headache free and attacks period. A total of 26 patients with migraine in headache free period and 24 patients with migraine in attack period participated in our study. Control group consisted of 24 healthy subjects. Plasma NO levels were measured spectrophotometrically. Plasma nitrite levels were found significantly higher than controls during headache free period (p < 0.05). By contrast, it was found significantly decreased in attack periods compared to headache free period. No significant change in plasma nitrite levels in migraine attacks period compared to controls was observed (p > 0.05). Plasma nitrite levels were not altered significantly after an attack in the patients with migraine. These results suggested that increased level of plasma NO during headache free period may play an important role in migraine pathogenesis.

Key words: Headache, migraine, nitric oxide, oxidative stress.