PO-67 | Investigating plasma neurofilament light chain levels in patients with migraine: a cross-sectional study

Elisa Maria Piella,¹ Alberto Mario Chiarandon,¹ Silvia Boschi,¹ Fausto Roveta,¹ Lucrezia Bonino,¹ Giulia Gioiello,² Giulia Montesano,² Giulio Mengozzi,² Innocenzo Rainero,^1,3 Elisa Rubino^1,3 | ¹Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; ²Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory “Baldi e Riberi”, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy; ³Headache Center, Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy

Background: Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a sensitive biomarker of axonal injury extensively studied across numerous neurological conditions. Some studies have explored NfL in migraine, showing no significant alteration of this biomarker. However, their role in the disorder’s pathophysiology remains poorly defined. This study aimed to compare NfL levels between adults with migraine and healthy controls, and to explore a potential association with demographic and clinical characteristics.

Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional study included patients with episodic and chronic migraine attending our tertiary Headache Center and healthy controls (HC). Clinical features including monthly migraine days (MMD), Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS), and pain intensity assessed by the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), were collected. Plasma NfL concentrations were measured with Lumipulse platform. Statistical analyses assessed differences in NfL levels across diagnostic groups and their associations with demographic and clinical features, Pearson’s correlation, post-hoc analyses linear and logistic regression were used to investigate the role of NfL.

Results: A total of 54 adult patients with a diagnosis of migraine were enrolled: 13 with episodic migraine (mean age 42.5 ± 15.9 years; 9 females; MMD 10.2 ± 2.1) and 41 with chronic migraine (mean age 48.6 ± 12.9 years; 33 females; MMD 24.8 ± 5.9). Additionally, 22 healthy controls were included (mean age 53.5 ± 12.8 years; 15 females). NfL concentrations (overall migraine patients = 11.3 ± 5.1; healthy controls = 10.6 ± 6.1; p=0.689) did not significantly differ between patients and controls nor between episodic and chronic migraine. Furthermore, NfL levels showed no association with demographic or clinical features. These findings were confirmed by post-hoc analyses and logistic regression models.

Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with previous studies reporting no significant differences in NfL levels between migraine patients and healthy controls. These results support the notion that migraine is a benign neurological disorder, not associated with axonal injury or neurodegeneration. Larger cohort studies are warranted to confirm and further explore these findings.