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Association Between Peripheral Inflammation Biomarkers and Clinical Phenotypes in Patients With Medication Overuse Headache: A Cross‐sectional Study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The role of peripheral inflammation in medication overuse headache (MOH) remains inadequately understood. This study aimed to investigate biomarkers of peripheral inflammation in MOH patients and examine their relationship with clinical features. METHODS: The study comprised 128 MOH patients and 132 age- and sex-matched controls, including 60 episodic migraine patients and 72 healthy controls (HC). Inflammatory markers derived from blood cell counts were assessed in all participants. Clinical features, including headache days and intensity per month and days per month with acute medication, were documented. RESULTS: In MOH patients, the aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI) was higher compared to healthy controls, and both MOH and episodic migraine patients had elevated systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) levels. AISI and SIRI were positively correlated with the days per month with acute medication, while systemic inflammation index (SII), SIRI, AISI, and other inflammatory markers correlated with headache duration. AISI proved more effective than SII and SIRI in diagnosing MOH. Furthermore, elevated SII and AISI levels were significantly associated with MOH after adjusting for age and sex. CONCLUSION: The study found significant correlations between SII, SIRI, and AISI and clinical phenotypes in MOH. Elevated SII and AISI levels were significantly linked to MOH, implying that these peripheral inflammation biomarkers could enhance the understanding of MOH.

Source: Brain and Behavior

DOI: 10.1002/brb3.71092