ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2026
Reduced thalamic glutathione in migraine: a MEGA-PRESS spectroscopy study.
Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Selective reduction of thalamic glutathione in migraine in the absence of detectable N-acetylaspartate alterations.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
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12 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMigraine and tension-type headache (TTH) are highly prevalent primary headache disorders lacking objective diagnostic biomarkers. Oxidative stress has been implicated in migraine pathophysiology, with glutathione (GSH) serving as the brain's principal antioxidant. This study investigated whether thalamic GSH levels, measured using optimized MEGA-PRESS spectroscopy, could serve as a candidate biomarker for differentiating migraine from TTH.
methodsThis cross-sectional study enrolled 76 participants: 20 healthy controls (HC), 19 TTH patients, and 37 migraine patients (27 without aura, 10 with aura). Bilateral thalamic GSH was measured using MEGA-PRESS at 3T. Group comparisons employed one-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post-hoc tests. Sex-stratified analyses were performed. ROC analysis evaluated diagnostic performance.
resultsMigraine patients showed significantly reduced thalamic GSH compared to both HC and TTH (left thalamus: F = 30.78, p < 0.001, η² = 0.457). Critically, no difference was found between HC and TTH groups. Sex-stratified analyses showed that GSH reduction was significant in both males and females. Left thalamic GSH showed good diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing migraine from both HC (AUC = 0.897) and TTH (AUC = 0.879).
conclusionsThalamic GSH reduction appears to differentiate migraine from TTH in this sample, supporting a distinct role of oxidative stress in migraine pathophysiology. GSH may serve as a candidate biomarker for differentiating migraine from TTH. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
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