Abstract
Objectives
The role of neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of migraine is becoming increasingly important. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum netrin-1 and amylin levels in patients with episodic migraine.
Methods
The study included 60 patients diagnosed with episodic migraine and 30 healthy controls. Patients were evaluated during an ictal (
n
= 25) or interictal (
n
= 35) period. They were further categorized based on the presence of aura (migraine with aura,
n
= 25; migraine without aura,
n
= 35).
Results
Serum netrin-1 levels were markedly lower in the migraine group compared to the control group (492.7 ± 638.0 pg/mL vs. 744.8 ± 754.7 pg./mL,
p
= 0.038). Although amylin levels were also lower in migraine patients (324.9 ± 451.7 ng/mL vs. 453.7 ± 490.2 ng/mL), this difference did not reach statistical significance (
p
= 0.141). No significant differences in netrin-1 and amylin levels were observed between patients with and without aura, nor between ictal and interictal periods. In the ROC analysis, netrin-1 levels demonstrated significant diagnostic performance in distinguishing migraine patients from controls (AUC = 0.635; 95% CI: 0.512–0.758;
p
= 0.031). The ROC analysis for amylin was not significant (AUC = 0.596,
p
= 0.133), and the combined model yielded an AUC of 0.636 (
p
= 0.036).
Conclusion
Serum netrin-1 levels were markedly lower in patients with episodic migraine compared with healthy controls, while amylin levels also showed a decreasing trend. Further large-scale studies are needed to elucidate the clinical significance and pathophysiological roles of these biomarkers in migraine.