The longitudinal influence of tDCS on occipital GABA and glutamate/glutamine levels in episodic migraineurs.

episodic; migraine; neurostimulation; spectroscopy; tDCS; Glutamine; Glutamic Acid; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Humans; Single-Blind Method; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/methods; Migraine Disorders/therapy; Migraine Disorders; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Abstract :

[en] This study investigated differences in the concentration of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the combination of glutamine and glutamate (as GLX) in the early visual cortex of patients with episodic migraine and the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on GABA and GLX. In this single-blind, sham-controlled trial, we randomly assigned patients with episodic migraine to receive daily anodal tDCS or sham stimulation. In addition, we included healthy controls. We acquired proton MR spectroscopy data of the visual cortex with 3 Tesla MRI at baseline and from migraine patients directly after the stimulation period and 4 months later. In 22 migraineurs and 25 controls, the GABA and the GLX concentrations did not differ at baseline between the groups. tDCS resulted in reduced concentrations of GABA but not GLX or the migraine frequency directly after the stimulation period, but not 4 months later. The changes in the levels of GABA in the early visual cortex of patients with episodic migraine in the interictal period suggest an effect of tDCS that allowed for subsequent changes in the migraine frequency. However, we might have missed relevant variations in the concentrations of these neurotransmitters during the follow-up period, as changes in migraine frequency appeared after the first MRI and disappeared before the second.

Disciplines :

Neurology

Author, co-author :

Pohl, Heiko ; Department of Neurology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ; Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Wyss, Patrik ; Department of Radiology, Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland

Sandor, Peter S ; Department of Neurology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ; Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, ZURZACH Care, Bad Zurzach, Switzerland

Schoenen, Jean ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques

Luechinger, Roger ; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

O'Gorman, Ruth ; Children's Research Center, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland ; Center for MR-Research, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

Riederer, Franz ; Department of Neurology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ; Karl Landsteiner Institute for Epilepsy Research and Cognitive Neurology, Vienna, Austria ; Department of Neurology, Clinic Hietzing, Vienna, Austria

Gantenbein, Andreas R ; Department of Neurology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ; Department of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, ZURZACH Care, Bad Zurzach, Switzerland

Michels, Lars ; Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ; Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Language :

English

Title :

The longitudinal influence of tDCS on occipital GABA and glutamate/glutamine levels in episodic migraineurs.

Publication date :

June 2023

Journal title :

Journal of Neuroscience Research

ISSN :

0360-4012

eISSN :

1097-4547

Publisher :

John Wiley and Sons Inc, United States

Volume :

101

Issue :

Pages :

815 - 825

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jnr.25161

Funding text :

HP was funded by the Werner Dessauer Stiftung.

Available on ORBi :

since 03 December 2024

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