ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2024
Tryptophan metabolites and gut microbiota play an important role in pediatric migraine diagnosis.
Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05969990 (Exploration of the Role of Tryptophan Metabolites in Pediatric Migraine), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Exploration of the Role of Tryptophan Metabolites in Pediatric Migraine
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Migraine in pediatric population: the role of biochemical markers.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Pooled it
- Gut microbiota, probiotics, and migraine: a clinical review and meta-analysis.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Pooled it
- The association between migraine and gut microbiota: a systematic review.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2025Pooled it
- Unravelling the gut-brain connection: a systematic review of migraine and the gut microbiome.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Pooled it
- Exploratory metabolomic profiling in migraine with PFO reveals dysregulated pathways and highlights indoleacrylic acid.iScience · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic reprogramming in pediatric migraine: a multi-omics analysis revealing diagnostic biomarkers.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Microbial metabolites at the nexus of gut-brain communication and neurodevelopmental disorders.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- The microgenderome in migraine: integrating sex hormones, microbial composition, and metabolic profiles into a sex-related framework.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- A review on gut microbiota and migraine severity: a complex relationship.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Oral and Gut Health, (Neuro) Inflammation, and Central Sensitization in Chronic Pain: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms, Treatment Opportunities, and Research Agenda.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Current Trends in Pediatric Migraine: Clinical Insights and Therapeutic Strategies.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Role of microbiota in pain: From bench to bedside.iMetaOmics · 2025Review
- Microbiota alterations are related to migraine food triggers and inflammatory markers in chronic migraine patients with medication overuse headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Article
- Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic significance of Tryptophan Metabolism and signaling in cancer.Molecular cancer · 2024Review
- Pediatric migraine is characterized by traits of ecological and metabolic dysbiosis and inflammation.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Article
- The Biology and Biochemistry of Kynurenic Acid, a Potential Nutraceutical with Multiple Biological Effects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Understanding the kynurenine pathway: A narrative review on its impact across chronic pain conditions.Molecular painReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe pathogenesis of pediatric migraine remains unclear and presents challenges in diagnosis. Recently, growing evidence has indicated that the gut microbiota can exert modulatory functions at the gut-brain axis by directly or indirectly regulating tryptophan metabolism. Consequently, we aimed to elucidate the potential association among gut microbiota, tryptophan metabolism, and pediatric migraine while also identifying diagnostic biomarkers for pediatric migraine.
methodsThe gut microbiota composition of 33 migraine children and 42 healthy children, aged less than ten years, from the GMrepo database, was analyzed using the Shannon index, Simpson index, principal coordinates analysis, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Microbial diagnostic biomarkers were identified using linear discriminant analysis effect size, ridge regression, and random forest. Plasma concentrations of tryptophan metabolites investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were compared between 51 migraine children and 120 healthy children, aged less than eighteen years, using t tests and analysis of variance. The receiver operating characteristic curve was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of microbial and metabolite biomarkers in pediatric migraine.
resultsDifferences in the composition of gut microbiota, notably the genera that regulate tryptophan metabolism, were observed in pediatric migraine children. Further investigations revealed a significant decrease in plasma kynurenic acid levels (p < 0.001) among migraine children, along with a significant increase in serotonin (p < 0.05) and quinolinic acid (p < 0.001). Subsequently, we established the normal reference intervals for plasma concentrations of tryptophan metabolites in children. More importantly, the ratio of kynurenic acid to quinolinic acid (AUC: 0.871, sensitivity: 86.3%, specificity: 83.3%) exhibited excellent diagnostic efficacy for pediatric migraine.
conclusionOur study suggests that the gut microbiota may play an important role in the development of pediatric migraine by regulating tryptophan metabolism. We believe that microbial and metabolite biomarkers are sensitive diagnostic tests for pediatric migraine.
trial registrationThe study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05969990).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.