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. 2023 Mar 20;24(1):28.
doi: 10.1186/s10194-023-01563-8.

FGF-21 and GDF-15 are increased in migraine and associated with the severity of migraine-related disability

Jiahui He #  1 , Mengting Zhou #  1 , Fanglin Zhao  1 , Hongrong Cheng  1 , Hao Huang  2 , Xiaopei Xu  3 , Jian Han  4 , Wenwu Hong  5 , Faming Wang  5 , Yujin Xiao  6 , Jinjin Xia  7 , Kaiming Liu  8
Affiliations

FGF-21 and GDF-15 are increased in migraine and associated with the severity of migraine-related disability

Jiahui He et al. J Headache Pain. .

Abstract

Background: Migraine is a prevalent disorder with significant socioeconomic impact. The impairment of metabolic homeostasis in migraine warrants further investigation. Changes in serum levels of Fibroblast-growth-factor 21 (FGF-21) and Growth-differentiation-factor 15 (GDF-15) are characteristic of some metabolic and mitochondrial diseases. This study aimed to assess whether the presence of migraine affects serum levels of FGF-21 and GDF-15, and taking metabolic disorders into account as potential confounding factors.

Methods: We collected serum samples from 221 migraine patients (153 episodic migraineurs and 68 chronic migraineurs) and 124 healthy controls. The serum concentrations of FGF-21 and GDF-15 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based approach. Clinical variables, including monthly headache days, peak headache pain intensity, the 6-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), and the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), were also addressed. The associations between the clinical variables of migraine patients and serum levels of FGF-21 and GDF-15 were studied.

Results: In the multiple regression that corrected for age, we found that the serum levels of FGF-21 and GDF-15 were significantly higher in migraine sufferers than in healthy controls. A significant elevation in serum concentration of FGF-21, but not GDF-15, was observed in patients with chronic migraine (CM) compared to those with episodic migraine (EM). Regarding migraine-related disability, higher scores on the HIT-6 and MIDAS were associated with higher levels of FGF-21 and GDF-15. For the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the diagnosis of migraine using GDF-15 showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.801 and the AUC of chronic migraine was 0.880.

Conclusion: Serum GDF-15 and FGF-21 levels are increased in patients with migraine and associated with the severity of migraine-related disability.

Keywords: FGF-21; GDF-15; Metabolism; Migraine; Migraine-related disability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
FGF-21 and GDF-15 values within the different groups. The p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. CM: Chronic migraine; EM: Episodic migraine
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
ROC curve analysis of serum GDF-15 for diagnosis of (A) migraine, B CM, (C) EM from control group. ROC curve analysis of serum FGF-21 for diagnosis of (D) migraine, E CM, F EM from control group. CM: Chronic migraine; EM: Episodic migraine; ROC: Receiver operating characteristic
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation between cytokines and clinical variables in migraineurs. A FGF-21 and HIT-6. B FGF-21 and MIDAS. C GDF-15 and HIT-6. D GDF-15 and MIDAS. HIT-6: 6-item Headache Impact Test; MIDAS: Migraine Disability Assessment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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