Scientists have identified a potential migraine biomarker in the blood, which has the potential to help create a blood test to determine if patients have episodes of these headaches, according to LiveScience.
The researchers tested the blood samples of 88 women, had them undergo a neurologic exam and had their body mass index recorded. Of the 88 women, 36 had no migraines while 52 had episodic migraines, meaning they experienced migraines at least 15 times every month. The participants in the study had an average of 5.6 migraine attacks each month.
Blood tests revealed that the ceramide levels of the women with episodic migraines were low, averaging 6,000 nanograms per milliliter, while those who did not have migraines had higher ceramide levels, averaging 10,500 nanograms per milliliter. A standard deviation increase in blood ceramide levels resulted in 92 percent lower risk of developing migraine.
On the other hand, increased levels of two types of sphingomyelin lipid translated to 2.5 times increased risk of developing migraines.
"A biological marker for migraine would be of great value in clinical practice," Dr. Karl Ekbom from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden wrote in an accompanying comment for the study. "This study is an important contribution to our understanding of the pathophysiology of migraine and may have vast practical clinical and therapeutic implications if it is supported by further studies."
However, Ekbom pointed out that only women were involved in the study and that the study only included episodic migraines and did not deal with chronic migraines, which typically occurs more than 15 times in a month. He also emphasized the need to compare the study's results with those of different types of headaches, such as cluster headaches.
"While more research is needed to confirm these initial findings, the possibility of discovering a new biomarker for migraine is exciting," study author B. Lee Peterlin at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a press release.
The study was published in the Sept. 9 online issue of the journal Neurology.
