Conclusion
Collectively, it appears that 17β-estradiol can exert protective effect on decrease of inflammation in migraine via decrease in levels of CGRP, IL-1β and iNOS activity; however, more studies are necessary in this regard.
Methods
This study was performed on twelve patients with pure menstrual migraine and twelve age-and sex-matched healthy individuals. PBMCs treated with 17β-estradiol for 24 hr at physiological and pharmacological doses. Gene expression was evaluated by real time-PCR. CGRP and IL-1β proteins in culture supernatant were determined by ELISA method. Activity of iNOS in PBMCs and total nitrite in the culture supernatant were measured by colorimetric assays.
Results
Treatment with 17β-estradiol had a biphasic effect on expression of CGRP. We found that 17β-estradiol treatment at pharmacological dose significantly increases mRNA expression of CGRP in both groups (P<0.001), whereas at physiological dose it could significantly decrease CGRP mRNA expression (P<0.001), CGRP protein levels, IL-1β release, NO production and iNOS activity only in patient groups (P<0.05).