Relationship between white matter lesions and neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio in migraine patients

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to compare the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels of migraine patients with and without gliotic lesions on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods: The records of the patients who were followed up in the neurology outpatient clinic of Ufuk University, Faculty of Medicine, between 2016 and 2019 with the diagnosis of migraine between the ages of 18 and 50 were reviewed retrospectively. Eighty-six patients without systemic, neurological, and infectious diseases between 18 and 50 years of age were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 – subclinical ischemic/gliotic lesions on MRI and Group 2 – normal MRI. Subparameters and calculated NLRs in whole blood results were compared between the two groups. Results: When the two groups were compared in terms of leukocyte and neutrophil counts, a statistically significant difference was found. The leukocyte and neutrophil counts of the patients in Group 1 were significantly higher than those of Group 2 (P = 0.038/P = 0.004). NLR was higher in patients with gliotic lesions on MRI than in patients with normal MRI and was statistically significant (P = 0.016). Conclusion: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between NLR and white matter lesions in patients with migraine. We have conducted this study to see if we can confirm this with a parameter in migraine patients with white matter lesions. Despite the small number of patients, leukocyte count, neutrophil count, and NLR were significantly higher in migraine patients with white matter lesions which support our hypothesis.

Keywords

• migraine
• neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio
• white matter lesions