title: Is the unresponsiveness to sumatriptan in cluster headache related to an alteration in the 5-HT receptors?
abstract: It is well established that cluster headache shows impaired functions at the neuroimmunomodulatory system level. Defects in the expression of receptors for 5-HT, IL-1 and IL-2 have been found in these patients. Sumatriptan, an agonist activity for 5-HT1D receptor, truncates cluster headache attack in 74% of patients. Flow cytometric analysis of monocytes expressing 5-HT receptor in cluster headache patients showed different trends clearly correlated with the clinical response to sumatriptan. Our findings strongly support the concept that cluster headache patients which are non-responders to sumatriptan could present a block in their 5-HT receptor expression possibly due to specific autoantibodies for this receptor site.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Technologies, CNR, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stirparo
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giacovazzo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martelletti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D003027:Cluster Headache / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015213:Neuroimmunomodulation; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000276:immunology*; D018170:Sumatriptan / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D018170:Sumatriptan