AI Article Synopsis
- This study investigates regional iron deposition in the brains of individuals with migraines, comparing them to healthy controls to understand the underlying mechanisms of migraine symptoms.
- Researchers analyzed MRI scans and clinical data from 200 migraine sufferers and 41 controls, focusing on subcortical brain regions like the putamen and nucleus accumbens (NAC) and how iron levels correlated with migraine severity.
- Findings indicate that higher iron levels in the NAC are linked to more chronic migraine conditions and could serve as a potential biomarker for assessing migraine severity and related dysfunctions.
Article Abstract
Background: Migraine is one of the world's most prevalent and disabling diseases. Despite huge advances in neuroimaging research, more valuable neuroimaging markers are still urgently needed to provide important insights into the brain mechanisms that underlie migraine symptoms. We therefore aim to investigate the regional iron deposition in subcortical nuclei of migraineurs as compared to controls and its association with migraine-related pathophysiological assessments.
Methods: A total of 200 migraineurs (56 chronic migraine [CM], 144 episodic migraine [EM]) and 41 matched controls were recruited. All subjects underwent MRI and clinical variables including frequency/duration of migraine, intensity of migraine, 6-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were recorded. Quantitative susceptibility mapping was employed to quantify the regional iron content in subcortical regions. Associations between clinical variables and regional iron deposition were studied as well.
Results: Increased iron deposition in the putamen, caudate, and nucleus accumbens (NAC) was observed in migraineurs more than controls. Meanwhile, patients with CM had a significantly higher volume of iron deposits compared to EM in multiple subcortical nuclei, especially in NAC. Volume of iron in NAC can be used to distinguish patients with CM from EM with a sensitivity of 85.45% and specificity of 71.53%. As the most valuable neuroimaging markers in all of the subcortical nuclei, higher iron deposition in NAC was significantly associated with disease progression, and higher HIT-6, MIDAS, and PSQI.
Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that iron deposition in NAC may be a biomarker for migraine chronicity and migraine-related dysfunctions, thus may help to understand the underlying vascular and neural mechanisms of migraine.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04939922.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10080952 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-023-02855-1 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!