RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The correlation of metabolic syndrome and migraine headache was evaluated in some previous studies. However there is no study that compared the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the patients with and without migraine. Control of coincidental factors such as metabolic syndrome reduces therapeutic resistance in migrainous patients. The aim of this study was to compare prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with and without migraine headache. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 200 migrainous patients diagnosed according to International Headache Society and 200 healthy controls without migraine enrolled in this study. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to ATP III criteria in these two groups and compared with each other. RESULTS: In this study, 17% (34) of migrainous patients and 15% (30) of healthy control without migraine had metabolic syndrome. (P = 0.585). Of the metabolic syndrome components, body mass index (P = 0.05) and waist circumference in migrainous (P = 0.03) were significantly more frequent. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that metabolic syndrome and migraine headache had not significant correlation; however, higher body mass index and waist circumference as metabolic syndrome components had correlated with migraine headache.
RESUMO
Objective: Carnitine plays a significant role in fatty acid transportation in mitochondria and has been shown to have a prophylactic effect on adult migraine. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to compare and evaluate the effects of L-carnitine supplementation versus propranolol in the prevention of pediatric migraine. Materials & Methods: A total of 60 pediatric patients with episodic migraine were randomly allocated to 2 independent groups to receive either 50 mg/kg/day L-carnitine or 1 mg/kg/day propranolol as a prophylactic drug. Frequency, severity, and duration of migraine attacks and headache disability based on the Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment Score (PedMIDAS) were studied at the baseline and after 2, 4, and 12 weeks. Results: A total of 56 patients were evaluated in the study: 23 girls (41%) and 33 boys (59%) with a mean age of 9.7 ± 2.1 years. Frequency of migraine headaches per month reduced from 11.4 ± 7.1 to 5.34 ± 2.4 in the L-carnitine group and from 10.7 ± 6.2 to 4.96 ± 3.9 in the propranolol group by the end of the study. Headache severity score was also reduced from 19.38 ± 14 to 2.88 ± 7.4 and from 12.92 ± 13 to 0.82 ± 1.3 in the L-carnitine and propranolol groups, respectively. We found a significant decrease in frequency, severity, and duration of headache attacks in both groups (P < 0.01). No significant difference was observed between the efficacies of the 2 drugs.This study concluded that L-carnitine supplementation can play a prophylactic role in the management of pediatric migraine.