Migraines are normally diagnosed based on what symptoms a person has, but this process might be more cut and dry in the future—because according to a study published in Neurology, migraines can be detected through your blood.
In the study, 52 women with episodic migraines and 36 without these headaches went through several exams and tests, including a blood draw. (Episodic migraines involve less than 15 headaches per month; these women averaged 5.6.) The blood samples were then tested for various fats that work to regulate inflammation in the brain and help maintain energy levels.
Of these lipids (fats), two stood out in the pack. First, a type known as ceramides were drastically decreased in the women with migraines—they showed average levels of 6,000 nanograms per milliliter of total ceramides in their blood, while the women without headaches had around 10,500 nanograms per milliliter. Further, for every increase in standard deviation, the likelihood of having migraines dropped 92%.
The other kind of fat, sphingomyelin, indicated increased levels of migraines as well, but for every standard deviation increase, risk of migraine also increased by 2.5 times. Or, in other words, the typical migraine sufferer showed increased sphingomyelin and decreased ceramides.
The researchers then studied the reverse: They examined 14 blood samples from both groups of women without knowing whether they had migraines or not, and guessed which ones would have migraines based on blood fats. Using just this, they were correctly able to identify which group all of the blood samples fell under.
More research needed, but “head”ed in the right direction
However, like most studies, there were some limitations—no men were studied, and chronic migraine sufferers were not included. Further, there was a high incidence of migraine with aura—which only occurs in 36% of migraine sufferers.
Nonetheless, the results are still pretty significant.
“While more research is needed to confirm these initial findings, the possibility of discovering a new biomarker for migraine is exciting,” said study author B. Lee Peterlin, DO, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, in a press release.
Karl Ekbom, MD, PhD, with the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, who wrote an accompanying comment article, agreed with Peterlin. “This study is a very important contribution to our understanding of the underpinnings of migraine and may have wide-ranging effects in diagnosing and treating migraine if the results are replicated in further studies,” he said.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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