Papers of the Week

In the present study we aimed to investigate the effects of nano-curcumin supplementation on gene expression and serum levels of IL-4 and TGF-β in migraine patients. Forty participants with episodic migraine were randomly allocated to receive 80 mg nano-curcumin ( = 20) or placebo ( = 20) in a randomized double-blind clinical trial for two months. At the beginning and the end of the study, the interictal serum levels and gene expression of IL-4 and TGF-β in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from migraine patients were measured, using ELISA and real-time PCR methods, respectively. Intra-group assays showed a significant rise in the gene expression of both IL-4 and TGF- β ( < 0.05) in nano-curcumin group after two months of treatment, however the serum levels was only significantly changed for IL-4 ( < 0.05). On the contrast, inter-group assays revealed no statistical differences between nano-curcumin and placebo group in terms of IL-4 and TGF-β gene expression, while the serum levels of IL-4 was observed to be increased significantly ( 0.03) following two month nano-curcumin supplementation. The findings of the present trial suggest that the treatment with nano-curcumin could induce significant levels of IL-4, in favour of anti-inflammatory effects, while has a minimal effects on the both gene expression and serum levels of TGF-β. Further studies are required to determine the exact mechanism of action of curcumin in patients with migraine.