ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY – VOLUME XIV, NO. 2, 2015 85 CORRELATION BETWEEN MIGRAINE SEVERITY AND COMORBIDITIES IN EPISODIC MIGRAINE PATIENTS Adriana Bulboaca, Corina Ursu, Ana Uifalean, Angelo Bulboaca Neurology Department, Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj-Napoca ABSTRACT Introduction. Migraine is an important cause of disability that affects the quality of life producing a substantial social impairment. Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between migraine severity and comorbidities in patients with episodic migraine. Methods. 2 groups of patients were included in the study: group 1 – control group (healthy subjects, n = 50), and group 2 – study group (patients with episodic migraine attacks, n = 65). Both groups were assessed for non- modifiable risk factors (age), and modifiable risk factors: BMI (body mass index), lipids profiles (LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides), inflammatory parameters (C reactive protein and fibrinogen), and endothelial dys- function (nitric oxide synthesis expressed as NOx). The migraine was diagnosed according to ICHD-2 (Interna- tional Classification of Headache Disorders) and the severity was evaluated by MIDAS (Migraine Disability Assess- ment Scale). The study group was compared with control group. The parameters that showed statistic significance were correlated with MIDAS scale. Results. There was a significant correlation between the severity and frequency of migraine attacks (evaluated by MIDAS scale) and BMI. The subgroup with higher inflammatory parameters and decreased NOx had an increased MIDAS score. Conclusions. The connection between obesity, inflammatory parameters and migraine may be useful for new prophylaxis potent therapies. The individual personalized therapies according with particular risk factors of each patient may be a chance for better results. Identification and control of risk factors in migraine patients may be particularly important. Keywords: migraine, risk factors, obesity, inflammation Author for correspondence: Adriana Bulboaca, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, 6 Pasteur St., Cluj-Napoca ORIGINAL ARTICLE INTRODUCTION Migraine is a common condition that requires global management aimed to reducing the frequen- cy of the attacks, lowering the associated disability and improving the patients’ quality of life. Episodic migraine and chronic migraine are the part of the same spectrum disorders, and the identification of risk factors and comorbidity profile for both clini- cal forms are important in order to therapeutic im- provement of functional status of the patients with migraine. Because there are no biological markers for migraine, the clinical examination and exclu- sion of other cause of headache is the base of mi- graine diagnosis (1). Because episodic migraine progress to chronic migraine at the rate of 2.5% per year (2), and because the chronic migraine is asso- ciated more frequent with disability than episodic migraine (3), the identification of risk factors and comorbidities among episodic migraine patients may contribute to a better prognosis for migraine patients. The pathophysiologic mechanisms for episodic migraine transformation in chronic mi- graine, is under research (4). Several comorbidities are associated to migraine. Cerebrovascular disor- ders, both ischemic, and hemorrhagic, were associ- ated with migraine, while the association between migraine and cardiovascular disease remains poor- ly defined (5). Additionally, individuals with mi- graine have a higher prevalence of risk factors