Clinical and laboratory characteristics of migraine associated with antiphospholipid syndrome and genetic thrombophilia

Objective. To identify clinical and laboratory markers of migraine associated with APS and GT. Material and methods. The study included 105 women with at least one of the following diagnoses: 1) migraine with or without aura, 2) APS or GT. Patients were divided into three groups depending on combination of diagnoses: group 1 (n=41) — patients with a verified diagnosis of APS/GT and no headache; group 2 (n=31) — patients with migraine and no APS/GT; group 3 (n=33) — patients with APS/GT and migraine. Each patient underwent clinical and biochemical blood tests, clotting test. Anamnesis and obstetric-gynecological data were analyzed. Results. Repeated miscarriage, spontaneous abortions in early stages of gestation and delayed fetal development are markers of migraine associated with AFS/GT. AFS/GT is characterized by a tendency to lower erythrocytes (p=0.001), hematocrit (p<0.001), platelets (p=0.012) and increased leukocyte count (p=0.044) due to neutrophils (p=0.001) while maintaining these indicators within reference values. Possible laboratory predictors of AFS/GT in migraine are hematocrit (odds ratio (OR)=0.34, p=0.012), erythrocyte count (OR=0.42, p=0.021) and neutrophils (OR=2.2, p=0.049). Conclusion. APS/GT is characterized by a tendency towards suppression of erythrocyte and platelet hematopoiesis, as well as increased leukocyte count due to neutrophils without abnormal values. These data together with obstetric-gynecological history allows for suspicion of possible migraine associated with APS/GT after routine clinical examination and justify further investigation.