Headache and prolonged dilatation of the middle meningeal artery by PACAP38 in healthy volunteers

Faisal Mohammad Amin, Mohammad Sohail Asghar, Song Guo, Anders Hougaard, Adam Espe Hansen, Henrik Winther Schytz, Rob J van der Geest, Patrick Jh de Koning, Henrik Bw Larsson, Jes Olesen, Messoud Ashina

    73 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Aim: To explore a possible relationship between vasodilatation and delayed headache we examined the effect of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP38) on the middle meningeal artery (MMA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) using high resolution magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study 14 healthy volunteers were scanned repeatedly after infusion (20 min) of 10 pmol/kg/min PACAP38 or placebo. In addition, four participants were scanned following subcutaneous sumatriptan (6 mg).Results: We found significant dilatation of the MMA (p = 0.00001), but not of the MCA (p = 0.50) after PACAP38. There was no change after placebo (p > 0.40). Vasodilatation (range 16-23%) lasted more than 5 h. Sumatriptan selectively contracted the MMA by 12.3% (p = 0.043).Conclusion: PACAP38-induced headache is associated with prolonged dilatation of the MMA but not of the MCA. Sumatriptan relieves headache in parallel with contraction of the MMA but not of the MCA.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalCephalalgia
    Volume32
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)140-9
    Number of pages10
    ISSN0333-1024
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2012

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