Biology session

Background: As a result of various stressors, migraine attacks occur in a significant part of humanity. This results in neuroinflammation in which the role of many inflammatory mediators is unclear, including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), which are proinflammatory cytokines belonging to C-C chemokines. Single intravenous administration of citalopram inhibits serotonin reuptake, by which stress hormone production in the body is increased. In this neuroendocrine challenge test, changes in cytokine levels induced by acute stress can be measured.

Materials and methods: The resting levels of MCP-1 and RANTES and their changes were examined in the blood of 44 migraineurs and 52 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 40 years during the neuroendocrine challenge. Following resting blood test, participants received intravenous placebo or citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and were taken blood again after 60 and 120 minutes. Cytokine measurements were performed by using a Cytometric Bead Array. The results of the crossover study were evaluated using a general linear mixed model with gender adjustment.

Results: MCP-1 showed a significant reduction at the time of the third blood test after citalopram administration, whereas there was no significant change in case of placebo. The amount of RANTES did not change significantly after the administration of either substance.

Conclusion: The stress response induced by intravenous citalopram results in a change in MCP-1 levels, whereas it has no effect on RANTES levels. This may allow us to determine the possible difference between changes in MCP-1 and RANTES levels in migraineurs and control subjects, thus contributing to a more accurate understanding of the pathomechanism of migraine.