Lower serum bilirubin concentration in patients with migraine.

BACKGROUND Bilirubin has been seen as a toxic waste product since it is product of heme metabolism. It's the latest in a series of studies showed that the concentration of serum bilirubin is associated with various diseases such as multiple sclerosis, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, no study to investigate the association between serum bilirubin and migraine, thus, our aim is to investigate the association between serum bilirubin and migraine. METHODS Serum samples were collected from 120 patients with migraine and 128 healthy individuals, serum total bilirubin (Tbil), serum direct bilirubin (Dbil) and serum indirect bilirubin (Ibil) concentration were measured to this study. RESULTS Tbil, Dbil and Ibil concentration were significantly lower in patients with migraine than healthy controls. Tbil, Dbil and Ibil concentration also were lower in patients with migraine compared with healthy controls when serum bilirubin concentration further was grouped by gender. CONCLUSIONS We found evidence that lower serum bilirubin in patients with migraine, serum bilirubin may be useful markers to estimate neurogenic inflammation in patients with migraine.