Plasma Lactic Acid and Pyruvic Acid Levels in Migraine and Tension‐Type Headache

Abstract

We examined the lactic and pyruvic acid levels in the plasma of 14 patients with migraine, 17 patients with tension-type headache, and 12 normal controls. The lactic and pyruvic acid levels in the plasma of the migraine patients were significantly higher than those of the normal controls (9.6 +/- 5.0 mg/dL and 0.51 +/- 0.30 mg/dL versus 3.3 +/- 1.9 mg/dL and 0.26 +/- 0.20 mg/dL, respectively). There were no significant differences in the levels between the patients with tension-type headache and normal controls. Our results suggest that migraine patients may have functional abnormalities in mitochondrial energy metabolism.