Taxer Bernhard, Lauth Wanda, von Piekartz Harry, Trinka Eugen, Leis Stefan
Department of Neurology, Neurocritical Care, and Neurorehabilitation, Christian Doppler University Hospital, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paracelsus Medical University, Member of ERN EpiCARE, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Karl Landsteiner Institute for Clinical Neuroscience, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Neurol Ther. 2025 Sep 6. doi: 10.1007/s40120-025-00824-9.
Migraine headache not only is associated with high levels of suffering but also represents a considerable socioeconomic challenge. It is linked to various psychological and physiological impairments, including sensorimotor and somatosensory dysfunction, like those observed in other persistent pain syndromes. This study aims to determine whether individuals with high-frequency episodic (HFEM) or chronic migraine (CM) exhibit differences in somatosensory perception compared to healthy individuals and to explore potential correlations with neuropsychological features.
Using a cross-sectional design, we assessed individuals with HFEM or CM (n = 45) and healthy controls (n = 25) using quantitative sensory testing (QST), conditioned pain modulation testing and neuropsychological questionnaires such as the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20).
Data from 45 participants (39 females) with HFEM or CM and a healthy control group of 25 individuals (21 female) were analysed. Median (range) number of monthly headache days of was 12.3 (6) in the migraine group. Statistically significant differences were found only in the assessment of central sensitization (p < 0.0010) but not for QST parameters. Correlations with QST parameters were generally weak, only the wind-up ratio (WUR) showing weak to moderate monotonic associations with both emotion- and somatosensory-associated parameters.
Overall, the results provided no evidence of significant differences between the migraine and healthy control groups. The lack of significant differences might be attributed to methodological limitations. However, the comprehensive and standardized implementation of QST strictly following the protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS), the selection of robust questionnaires, uniform diagnostic criteria and rigorous statistical analysis represent methodological strengths and support the validity of the results. Nevertheless, these findings, which partly contrast with existing literature, may reflect limitations of the sample and methodology and should be interpreted with caution.
偏头痛不仅会给患者带来极大痛苦，还构成了一项重大的社会经济挑战。它与多种心理和生理功能障碍相关，包括感觉运动和躯体感觉功能障碍，类似于在其他持续性疼痛综合征中观察到的情况。本研究旨在确定高频发作性（HFEM）或慢性偏头痛（CM）患者与健康个体相比在躯体感觉感知方面是否存在差异，并探讨其与神经心理学特征的潜在相关性。
采用横断面设计，我们使用定量感觉测试（QST）、条件性疼痛调制测试以及神经心理学问卷，如中枢敏化量表（CSI）和多伦多述情障碍量表（TAS - 20），对HFEM或CM患者（n = 45）和健康对照组（n = 25）进行评估。
分析了45名患有HFEM或CM的参与者（39名女性）以及25名健康对照个体（21名女性）的数据。偏头痛组每月头痛天数的中位数（范围）为12.3（6）天。仅在中枢敏化评估中发现了具有统计学意义的差异（p < 0.0010），而QST参数方面未发现差异。与QST参数的相关性总体较弱，只有累积比率（WUR）与情绪和躯体感觉相关参数呈现出弱至中度的单调关联。
总体而言，结果未提供偏头痛组与健康对照组之间存在显著差异的证据。缺乏显著差异可能归因于方法学上的局限性。然而，严格按照德国神经性疼痛研究网络（DFNS）的方案全面且标准化地实施QST、选用可靠的问卷、统一的诊断标准以及严谨的统计分析，代表了方法学上的优势，并支持了结果的有效性。尽管如此，这些部分与现有文献相悖的发现可能反映了样本和方法的局限性，应谨慎解读。
