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PACAP38- and VIP-induced cluster headache attacks are not associated with changes of plasma CGRP or markers of mast cell activation
Plain-language guide to PMID 34822741 (2022): randomized controlled trial study of CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) and PACAP.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 34822741
- Journal
- Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
- Year
- 2022
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Pellesi L et al. (8 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1177/03331024211056248
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
This randomized controlled trial paper looks at CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) and PACAP.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP38) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide can provoke cluster headache attacks in up to half of cluster headache patients in their active phase.
At present, it is unknown whether provoked attacks are mediated via calcitonin gene-related peptide or mast cell activation.
How the Study Was Run
The researchers set it up as a randomized study.
The participants were allocated by chance, so the CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) group and the comparison group should start out alike.
The researchers collected clinical data and measured plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide and markers of mast cell activation (tryptase and histamine) at fixed time points: at baseline (T0), at the end of the infusion (T20), 10 min after the infusion (T30), and 70 min after the infusion (T90).
What Was Measured
Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP38) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide can provoke cluster headache attacks in up to half of cluster headache patients in their active phase.
PubMed files the paper under topics including Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide, Cluster Headache, Histamine, Mast Cells, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide, Tryptases and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide.
Author keywords: CGRP and PACAP.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized study of CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) and PACAP.
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 2022 (Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache), a journal based in England.
More context: the CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) compound page and the PACAP compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compounds
CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide): A 37-amino-acid neuropeptide that widens blood vessels and is involved in migraine; given in research provocation studies.
PACAP: Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, a 38-amino-acid neuropeptide studied in migraine provocation research.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.