Current antimigraine drugs are believed, besides their direct vasoconstrictive effect, to inhibit calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) release from trigeminal nerve endings during migraine. Objective The objective of this report is to establish a biomarker for the CGRP-interfering effect of antimigraine drugs. Methods We quantified the effect of sumatriptan on the trigeminal nerve-mediated rise in forehead dermal blood flow (DBF), induced by capsaicin application (0.6 mg/ml) and electrical stimulation (0.2-1.0 mA), in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in healthy male (n = 11, age ± SD: 29 ± 8 years) and female (n = 11, 32 ± 7 years) individuals. Results DBF responses to capsaicin were attenuated by sumatriptan (ΔDBF, mean ± SEM: 82 ± 18 AU, p = 0.0002), but not by placebo (ΔDBF: 21 ± 12 AU, p = 0.1026). Conclusion We demonstrated that sumatriptan inhibits increases in DBF, induced by the release of, most likely, CGRP. Thus, our model may be used as a biomarker to establish the trigeminovascular effects of (potential) antimigraine drugs, such as CGRP receptor antagonists or antibodies directed against CGRP or its receptor.

, , , , ,
doi.org/10.1177/0333102416637833, hdl.handle.net/1765/95024
Cephalalgia: an international journal of headache
Department of Internal Medicine

Ibrahimi, K., Danser, J., Terwindt, G., van den Meiracker, A., & Maassen van den Brink, A. (2017). A human trigeminovascular biomarker for antimigraine drugs: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial with sumatriptan. Cephalalgia: an international journal of headache, 37(1), 94–98. doi:10.1177/0333102416637833