Department of Neurology, Düzce University Medical Faculty, Turkey.
Clin J Pain. 2010 Oct;26(8):690-3. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e3181e8d9b6.
Cytokines are pain mediators in neurovascular inflammation. This study examined interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels in the serum of tension-type headache (TTH) patients, to determine if inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of this condition.
Serum IL-6 levels were studied in 42 patients and 37 healthy controls from the same region. Of the patients, 20 (47.6%) experiencing TTH less than 15 days per month were placed in episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) group, and 22 (52.3%) with TTH more than 15 days per month were placed in chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) group.
The IL-6 level was significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. The IL-6 level of CTTH patients was higher than the controls (P<0.01). The IL-6 level was similar between ETTH and CTTH patients. Correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship only between age and IL-6 level in the patients.
CTTH and ETTH patients had an elevated serum IL-6 level compared with controls. Therefore, we believe that IL-6 may be involved in pain induction or inflammatory mechanisms in TTH. Furthermore studies of the possible connection between chronicity of headaches and cytokine levels are needed.
细胞因子是神经血管炎症中的疼痛介质。本研究检测了紧张型头痛（TTH）患者血清中的白细胞介素 6（IL-6）水平，以确定炎症是否在该疾病的发病机制中起作用。
研究了来自同一地区的 42 名患者和 37 名健康对照者的血清 IL-6 水平。其中，20 名（47.6%）每月头痛少于 15 天的患者被归入发作性紧张型头痛（ETTH）组，22 名（52.3%）每月头痛超过 15 天的患者被归入慢性紧张型头痛（CTTH）组。
患者的 IL-6 水平明显高于对照组。CTTH 患者的 IL-6 水平高于对照组（P<0.01）。ETTH 和 CTTH 患者的 IL-6 水平相似。相关性分析显示，仅在患者中，年龄与 IL-6 水平之间存在正相关关系。
与对照组相比，CTTH 和 ETTH 患者的血清 IL-6 水平升高。因此，我们认为 IL-6 可能参与 TTH 的疼痛诱导或炎症机制。此外，还需要研究头痛慢性与细胞因子水平之间的可能联系。
