Evidence mapPaperPMID 40955422Full record

ArticleTherapeutic advances in neurological disorders2025

Association between liver enzyme levels and prevalence of migraine: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study.

Angela Ruban, Andrea L C Schneider, Menglu Liang, Rebecca F Gottesman, Elizabeth Selvin, Josef Coresh, Mariana Lazo, Silvia Koton

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Innovative treatments for migraine: a new era.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Angela RubanDepartment of Nursing, Grey Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, P.O. Box 39040.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1091-8854
Andrea L C SchneiderDepartment of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Menglu LiangDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Rebecca F GottesmanDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Elizabeth SelvinDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Josef CoreshDepartment of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Mariana LazoDepartment of Community Health and Prevention and Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Silvia KotonDepartment of Nursing, Grey Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cumulative research data indicate that migraine is characterized by a glutamatergic imbalance, particularly an excessive glutamatergic signal. Increases in glutamate levels in the brain and plasma of migraine patients have been reported, but less is known about the association between liver enzymes, such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) that regulate blood glutamate levels and migraine. Objectives: We evaluated associations between AST, ALT, and GGT levels across the quartiles and a history of probable/defined migraine in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study cohort. Design: We included 11,718 participants with measured liver enzyme levels and self-reported data on migraine with and without aura. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess associations of sex-specific quartiles of liver enzymes with probable/definite migraine. Results: A total of 1626 probable/definite migraine events were reported in 1993-1995. After adjustment for age, race-center, and sex, higher levels of AST, ALT, and GGT were associated with a lower prevalence of migraine. The adjusted odds ratios (95% CIs) for migraine for Q1 versus Q4 levels of AST, ALT, and GGT were 1.24 (1.06-1.45), 1.17 (1.00-1.37) and 1.21 (1.03-1.41), respectively. Analysis by yes/no aura showed higher odds of migraine without aura for lower (Q1) compared with higher (Q4) levels of ALT (adjusted OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.05-1.82), while no significant association was observed between enzyme levels and prevalence of migraine with aura. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that higher AST, ALT, and GGT levels are associated with a lower prevalence of migraine. Although the exact mechanisms linking lower blood levels of AST, ALT, and GGT to migraines remain unclear, their association may be explained by inefficient plasma glutamate regulation, which could play a role in migraine pathology. This finding is important for patients as it sheds light on potential metabolic contributions to migraines, supporting the hypothesis that factors beyond traditional neurovascular theories are involved.

Indexed as

excitotoxicityglutamateliver enzymesmigrainetreatment

Identifiers

PMID40955422
PMCPMC12433560

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.