Calcitonin gene-related peptide induces headache attacks in people with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

What Was Tested

Researchers studied CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a key mediator in migraine pathophysiology.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) headache phenotype is now understood to be typically migraine-like, but it is unclear whether CGRP directly provokes IIH headaches or alters intracranial pressure (ICP) dynamics.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as young adults and adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide), so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

The primary outcome was the difference in the proportion of participants who developed a provoked headache attack between CGRP and placebo during the 12 h observation after infusion.

Secondary outcomes included the area under the curve (AUC) for headache intensity from -10 min to 12 h, the timing and duration of headache features, and baseline-adjusted changes for vital signs, cerebrovascular haemodynamics and ICP.

The subject headings attached to it are Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide, Intracranial Pressure, Pseudotumor Cerebri, Headache and Cerebrovascular Circulation.

Author keywords: calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), cerebrovascular haemodynamics, headache pathophysiology, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and intracranial compliance.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide).

The publication is from 2026 (Brain : a journal of neurology), a journal based in England.

More context: the CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) compound page, all human trials.