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. 2010 Jun 17;11(5):427–430. doi: 10.1007/s10194-010-0233-0

Increased serum levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor during migraine attacks: a pilot study

Marco Túlio A Tanure 1, Rodrigo S Gomez 1, Rubens Carlos L Hurtado 1, Antônio L Teixeira 1, Renan Barros Domingues 1,✉
PMCID: PMC3452273  PMID: 20556464

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence implicating inflammatory cytokines and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) in the generation of migraine pain. No previous study evaluated BNDF levels during migraine attacks and there are conflicting results regarding tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) serum levels. This study compared serum levels of TNF-alpha, soluble TNF receptors 1 and 2 (sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2), and BDNF during migraine attacks and in headache-free periods. Nine patients with episodic migraine were clinically evaluated during a migraine attack and in a headache-free period. Blood sample of each patient in both occasions was collected and all serum was submitted to TNF-alpha, sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, and BDNF determination by ELISA. There was no significant difference in the serum levels of TNF-alpha, sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2 in migraine attack period and headache-free period. BDNF serum levels were significantly higher during migraine attack than in pain-free period. This is the first report showing that BDNF serum levels increase during migraine attack. This reinforces the view that BDNF may be implicated in the physiopathology of migraine.

Keywords: Migraine, Cytokines, TNF-α, BDNF

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (Fapemig) and by Rede Instituto Brasileiro de Neurociência (IBNet), Brazil.

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