PACAP27 induces migraine-like attacks in migraine patients

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at PACAP in the context of migraine.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is found in two functional isoforms, namely PACAP38 and PACAP27.

Who Took Part

The study group was 20 patients.

PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

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

As a double-blind PACAP study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some patients received a placebo instead of PACAP, giving a reference point.

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

The researchers recorded the migraine and associated symptoms.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Blood Flow Velocity, Migraine without Aura, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide and Vasodilator Agents.

Author keywords: cyclic adenosine monophosphate, flushing, headache and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of PACAP in 20 patients in people with migraine.

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.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2020 (Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache), a journal based in England.

More context: the PACAP compound page, Migraine research.