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Zagami AS, Shaikh S, Mahns D, Lambert GA. A potential role for two brainstem nuclei in craniovascular nociception and the triggering of migraine headache. Cephalalgia 2020; 41:203-216. [PMID: 32990035 DOI: 10.1177/0333102420960039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
AIM To use an animal model of migraine to test whether migraine headache might arise from a brainstem-trigeminal nucleus pathway. METHODS We measured evoked and spontaneous activity of second-order trigeminovascular neurons in rats to test whether the activity of these neurons increased following the induction of cortical spreading depression or the imposition of light flash - two potential migraine triggers, or headache provokers. We then tested whether drugs that could activate, or inactivate, neurons of the nucleus raphe magnus or the periaqueductal gray matter, would affect any such increases selectively for the dura mater. RESULTS Injection of sodium glutamate (a neuronal excitant) into these two nuclei selectively inhibited the responses of trigeminovascular second-order neurons to dura mater, but not to facial skin, stimulation. Injection of lignocaine (a local anaesthetic) into these nuclei selectively potentiated the responses of these neurons to dura, but not to facial skin, stimulation. Furthermore, injections into either nucleus of glutamate inhibited the increase in the ongoing discharge rate of these neurons produced by cortical spreading depression and light flash. CONCLUSIONS These results provide indirect evidence that trigeminovascular nociception may be tightly controlled by these two nuclei, whereas cutaneous trigeminal sensation may be less so. These nuclei may be relays of one possible brainstem-trigeminal pathway that could mediate migraine headache. Modification of neuronal activity in these two nuclei produced by migraine (headache) triggers may lie behind the pain of a migraine attack, at least in some cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro S Zagami
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW (Sydney), NSW, Australia.,Institute of Neurological Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Sumaiya Shaikh
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
| | - David Mahns
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
| | - Geoffrey A Lambert
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW (Sydney), NSW, Australia.,School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
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Abstract
Migraine is a highly prevalent, severe, and disabling neurological condition with a significant unmet need for effective acute therapies. Patients (~50%) are dissatisfied with their currently available therapies. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has emerged as a key neuropeptide involved in the pathophysiology of migraines. As reviewed in this manuscript, a number of small molecule antagonists of the CGRP receptor have been developed for migraine therapy. Incredibly, the majority of the clinical trials conducted have proven positive, demonstrating the importance of this signalling pathway in migraine. Unfortunately, a number of these molecules raised liver toxicity concerns when used daily for as little as 7 days resulting in their discontinuation. Despite the clear safety concerns, clinical trial data suggests that their intermittent use remains a viable and safe alternative, with 2 molecules remaining in clinical development (ubrogepant and rimegepant). Further, these proofs of principle studies identifying CGRP as a viable clinical target have led to the development of several CGRP or CGRP receptor-targeted monoclonal antibodies that continue to show good clinical efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip R Holland
- Headache Group, Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London, UK.
| | - Peter J Goadsby
- NIHR-Wellcome Trust, King's Clinical Research Facility, King's College Hospital, London, UK
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Holland PR. Biology of Neuropeptides: Orexinergic Involvement in Primary Headache Disorders. Headache 2018; 57 Suppl 2:76-88. [PMID: 28485849 DOI: 10.1111/head.13078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Migraine is a very common, severe disabling condition that can last for days and strike multiple times per month. Attacks, often characterized by severe unilateral throbbing pain that is exacerbated by activity, are commonly preceded by several diverse symptoms including fatigue, irritability, and yawning. This premonitory (prodromal) phase represents the earliest identifiable feature of an attack that is a reliable predictor of ensuing headache. The diversity of these symptoms underlines the complex nature of migraine and focuses considerable attention on the hypothalamus due to its prominent role in homeostatic regulation allowing state dependent behavioral modifications. While multiple neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems have been proposed to play a role in migraine, the current review will focus on the emerging role of the hypothalamic orexinergic system in primary headache disorders. Specifically the potential role of altered orexinergic signalling in premonitory symptomatology and the future potential of targeted orexinergic therapies that could with other approaches act during the premonitory phase to prevent the occurrence of the headache or reduce an individual's susceptibility to attacks by altering the brain's response to external and internal triggers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip R Holland
- Headache Group, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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Goadsby PJ, Holland PR, Martins-Oliveira M, Hoffmann J, Schankin C, Akerman S. Pathophysiology of Migraine: A Disorder of Sensory Processing. Physiol Rev 2017; 97:553-622. [PMID: 28179394 PMCID: PMC5539409 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00034.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1019] [Impact Index Per Article: 145.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Plaguing humans for more than two millennia, manifest on every continent studied, and with more than one billion patients having an attack in any year, migraine stands as the sixth most common cause of disability on the planet. The pathophysiology of migraine has emerged from a historical consideration of the "humors" through mid-20th century distraction of the now defunct Vascular Theory to a clear place as a neurological disorder. It could be said there are three questions: why, how, and when? Why: migraine is largely accepted to be an inherited tendency for the brain to lose control of its inputs. How: the now classical trigeminal durovascular afferent pathway has been explored in laboratory and clinic; interrogated with immunohistochemistry to functional brain imaging to offer a roadmap of the attack. When: migraine attacks emerge due to a disorder of brain sensory processing that itself likely cycles, influenced by genetics and the environment. In the first, premonitory, phase that precedes headache, brain stem and diencephalic systems modulating afferent signals, light-photophobia or sound-phonophobia, begin to dysfunction and eventually to evolve to the pain phase and with time the resolution or postdromal phase. Understanding the biology of migraine through careful bench-based research has led to major classes of therapeutics being identified: triptans, serotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists; gepants, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists; ditans, 5-HT1F receptor agonists, CGRP mechanisms monoclonal antibodies; and glurants, mGlu5 modulators; with the promise of more to come. Investment in understanding migraine has been very successful and leaves us at a new dawn, able to transform its impact on a global scale, as well as understand fundamental aspects of human biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Goadsby
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Philip R Holland
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Margarida Martins-Oliveira
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jan Hoffmann
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Schankin
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Simon Akerman
- Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Lambert GA, Hoskin KL, Michalicek J, Panahi SE, Truong L, Zagami AS. Stimulation of dural vessels excites the SI somatosensory cortex of the cat via a relay in the thalamus. Cephalalgia 2013; 34:243-57. [DOI: 10.1177/0333102413508239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Aim We carried out experiments in cats to determine the thalamo-cortical projection sites of trigeminovascular sensory neurons. Methods 1) We stimulated the middle meningeal artery (MMA) with C-fibre intensity electrical shocks and made field potential recordings over the somatosensory cortical surface. 2) We then recorded neurons in the ventroposteromedial (VPM) nucleus of the thalamus in search of neurons which could be activated from the skin, MMA and superior sagittal sinus. 3) Finally, we attempted to antidromically activate the neurons found in stage 2 by stimulating the responsive cortical areas revealed in stage 1. Results VPM neurons received trigeminovascular input, input from the V1 facial skin and could also be activated by electrical stimulation of the somatosensory cortex. VPM neurons activated from the cortex responded with short and invariant latencies (6.7 ± 7.7 msec mean and SD). They could follow high rates of stimulation and sometimes showed collision with orthodromic action potentials. Conclusions We conclude that somatosensory (SI) cortical stimulation excites trigeminovascular VPM neurons antidromically. In consequence, these VPM neurons project to the somatosensory cortex. These findings may help to explain the ability of migraineurs with headache in the trigeminal distribution to localise their pain to a particular region in this distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karen L Hoskin
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jan Michalicek
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
| | - Seyed E Panahi
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
| | - Linda Truong
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
| | - Alessandro S Zagami
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
- Institute of Neurological Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, Australia
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