ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2021
Comparison of pregnenolone sulfate, pregnanolone and estradiol levels between patients with menstrually-related migraine and controls: an exploratory study.
Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploratory metabolomic profiling in migraine with PFO reveals dysregulated pathways and highlights indoleacrylic acid.iScience · 2026Article
- Altered static-dynamic interhemispheric connectivity and transcriptional features underlying lateralization in patients with migraine.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Decreases in Hormone Levels Modulate Neurovascular Coupling but Not Reduced Insular Functional Connectivity in Menstrual-Related Migraine.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Neurosteroids Progesterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone: Molecular Mechanisms of Action in Neuroprotection and Neuroinflammation.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Pregnenolone sulfate potentiates tetrodotoxin-resistant NaThe journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Sex difference in TRPM3 channel functioning in nociceptive and vascular systems: an emerging target for migraine therapy in females?The journal of headache and pain · 2025Review
- Supportive care of female hormones in brain health: what and how?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNeurosteroids affect the balance between neuroexcitation and neuroinhibition but have been little studied in migraine. We compared the serum levels of pregnenolone sulfate, pregnanolone and estradiol in women with menstrually-related migraine and controls and analysed if a correlation existed between the levels of the three hormones and history of migraine and age.
methodsThirty women (mean age ± SD: 33.5 ± 7.1) with menstrually-related migraine (MM group) and 30 aged- matched controls (mean age ± SD: 30.9 ± 7.9) participated in the exploratory study. Pregnenolone sulfate and pregnanolone serum levels were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, while estradiol levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
resultsSerum levels of pregnenolone sulfate and pregnanolone were significantly lower in the MM group than in controls (pregnenolone sulfate: P = 0.0328; pregnanolone: P = 0.0271, Student's t-test), while estradiol levels were similar. In MM group, pregnenolone sulfate serum levels were negatively correlated with history of migraine (R
conclusionLow levels of both pregnanolone, a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor, and pregnenolone sulfate, a positive allosteric modulator of the NMDA receptor, involved in memory and learning, could contribute either to headache pain or the cognitive dysfunctions reported in migraine patients. Overall, our results agree with the hypothesis that migraine is a disorder associated with a loss of neurohormonal integrity, thus supporting the therapeutic potential of restoring low neurosteroid levels in migraine treatment.
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