Serum alpha-CGRP levels are increased in COVID-19 patients with headache indicating an activation of the trigeminal system
Background Headache is among the most frequent symptoms of acute COVID-19 infection. Its mechanisms remain obscure, but due to its migraine-like characteristics, the activation of the trigeminal system could account for its underlying pathophysiology. Methods Our aim was to compare the serum levels...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Cantabria (UC) |
| Repositorio: | UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.unican.es:10902/30071 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10902/30071 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | COVID-19 CGRP Alpha-CGRP Headache trigeminal system |
| Sumario: | Background Headache is among the most frequent symptoms of acute COVID-19 infection. Its mechanisms remain obscure, but due to its migraine-like characteristics, the activation of the trigeminal system could account for its underlying pathophysiology. Methods Our aim was to compare the serum levels of CGRP, as a theoretical marker of trigemino-vascular activation, in 25 COVID-19 inpatients with lung involvement experiencing headache, against 15 COVID-19 inpatients without headache and with those of 25 matched healthy controls with no headache history. Results Morning serum alpha-CGRP levels, as measured by ELISA (Abbexa, UK), were increased in COVID-19 patients with headache (55.2±34.3 pg/mL) vs. controls (33.9±14.0 pg/mL) (p<0.01). Alpha-CGRP levels in COVID-19 patients without headache were also significantly increased (43.3±12.8 pg/mL; p=0.05) versus healthy controls, but were numerically lower (-28.2%; p=0.36) as compared to COVID-19 patients with headache. Conclusion CGRP levels are increased in COVID-19 patients experiencing headache in the acute phase of this disease, which could explain why headache frequently occurs in COVID-19 and strongly supports a role for trigeminal activation in the pathophysiology of headache in this viral infection. |
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