title: Prostacyclin (epoprostenol) induces headache in healthy subjects.
abstract: The role of prostanoids in nociception is well established. The headache eliciting effects of prostacyclin (prostaglandin I(2), (PGI(2))) and its possible mechanisms had previously not been systematically studied in man. We hypothesized that infusion of PGI(2) might induce headache and vasodilatation of cranial vessels. A stable analog of PGI(2) epoprostenol (10 ng/kg/min) was infused for 25 min into 12 healthy subjects in a cross-over, double-blind study. Headache intensity was scored on a verbal rating scale from 0 to 10. In addition, we recorded mean flow in the middle cerebral artery (V(mean MCA)) by the transcranial doppler and diameter of the superficial temporal artery (STA) by a high-resolution ultrasonography unit. During the immediate phase (0-30 min) and the post-infusion phase (30-90 min), 11 subjects reported headache on the PGI(2) day and no subjects reported headache on the placebo day (p=0.002). During epoprostenol (0-30 min) and in the post-infusion phase (30-90 min), the area under the curve (AUC) for headache score was significantly larger than during and after placebo (p=0.005). PGI(2) caused headache associated with the dilatation of STA (AUC, p<0.001), but no significant dilatation of the MCA (AUC, p=0.508). These data indicate that PGI(2) induced headache might be due to activation and sensitization of sensory afferents around extracranial arteries.
authors.affiliation: Danish Headache Center and Department of Neurology, Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Nordre Ringvej 57, DK-2600 Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Nordre Ringvej 57, DK-2600 Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Troels
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wienecke
authors.forename: Jes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olesen
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Oturai
authors.forename: Messoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ashina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D011464:Epoprostenol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial / Q000379:methods; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011464:Epoprostenol