title: Plasma Levels of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Visfatin During Different Stages and Different Subtypes of Migraine Headaches.
abstract: BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the plasma levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and visfatin in different stages and different subtypes of migraine headaches compared to a control group to elucidate the pathological mechanisms involved. MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited a case-control cohort of 182 adult migraine patients and 80 age-matched and gender-matched healthy controls. The migraine patients were divided into two groups: the headache-attack-period group (Group A, n=77) and the headache-free-period group (Group B, n=105). The two groups were further divided into subgroups according to whether they had aura symptoms. Solid phase double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the plasma levels of COX-2 and visfatin. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0. RESULTS The plasma levels of COX-2 and visfatin in the headache-attack-period group were significantly higher than in the headache-free-period group and the control group; there were no significant differences between the headache-free group and the control group. There were no significant differences in plasma levels of COX-2 and visfatin between the subgroups: headache-attack-period with aura subgroup and the headache-attack-period without aura sub group. CONCLUSIONS COX-2 and visfatin participated in the pathogenesis of migraine headaches. The presence of aura had no effect on the serum levels of COX-2 and visfatin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Liaocheng Center Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Qiushi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Qiu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Fourth Hospital of Chongqing, Chongqing, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Junwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Fengzhi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Hemin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000097:blood*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000628:therapy; D020325:Migraine with Aura / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000628:therapy; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D054409:Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase; C085455:nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, human