Inhibition of capsaicin-induced increase in dermal blood flow by the oral CGRP receptor antagonist, telcagepant (MK-0974).

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Capsaicin.

Plasma samples to determine telcagepant concentrations were collected immediately after laser Doppler perfusion imaging.

Who Took Part

The study group was 12 men.

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, men only.

A three-period crossover study in 12 healthy adult men.

Capsaicin was applied at two sites on the volar surface of the subjects' left and right forearms.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Capsaicin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Capsaicin group a baseline to be compared against.

Each person switched between Capsaicin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

DBF was assessed by laser Doppler perfusion imaging immediately before ('baseline'), and 0.5 h after each capsaicin application at 1 and 4 h.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Administration, Topical, Azepines, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonists, Capsaicin, Drug Interactions, Forearm and Imidazoles.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Capsaicin in 12 men.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2010 (British journal of clinical pharmacology), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.