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Is migraine due to a deficiency of pineal melatonin?

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Abstract

Recent clinical observations favor the theory that migraine is caused by a primary injury of cerebral neurons with secondary involvement of intracranial and extracranial blood vessels. The primary injury is attributed to disruption of cerebral neurotransmitters and particularly the neuroadrenergic and serotonergic systems. These theories have not explained the importance of environmental factors, which so frequently trigger migraine.

The author suggests that the pineal gland, which is outside the CNS unprotected by blood brain barrier and sensitive to external stimuli, could act as the intermediate causative factor of migraine, via a derangement of melatonin.

Sommario

I dati più recenti sono in favore della teoria che l'emicrania dipende da una offesa primaria dei neuroni cerebrali e da un secondario interessamento dei vasi intra ed extracranici. L'interessamento primario viene attribuito a una disfunzione dei neurotrasmettitori e soprattutto dei sistemi adrenergico e serotoninergico. Queste teorie, però, non hanno spiegato l'importanza dei fattori ambientali che frequentemente scatenano l'attacco emicranico. L'Autore ipotizza che la ghiandola pineale che si trova al di fuori del sistema nervoso centrale, ma è protetta dalla barriera ematoencefalica ed è sensibile agli stimoli esterni, possa agire come fattore causale intermedio dell'emicranica tramite una disorganizzazione della produzione di melatonina.

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  1. Department of Neurology, Temple University Health Sciences Center, 3401 North Broad Street, 19140, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Toglia J. U. M.D.

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  1. Toglia J. U. M.D.
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Toglia, J.U. Is migraine due to a deficiency of pineal melatonin?. Ital J Neuro Sci 7, 319–323 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02340869

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