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        New Message Board Archives >> 2004 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Histamines & CHs
        
(Message started by: Bucco on Jun 2^nd, 2004, 10:07am)

Title: Histamines & CHs
Post by Bucco on Jun 2^nd, 2004, 10:07am

As a result of reading the responses to my previous ER message I made my first trip to the OUCH website. I couldn't understand the technical discussions I found there to any great degree. However, there was a mention of Histamines there that caught my eye.
I have had elevated histamines for many years ( I have to take a pil a day (Zyrtec) to keep from getting rashes and itching.... basically allergy control. Does anyone know of a more detailed discussion of the relationship between Histamines and CHs that they can refer me to??? [smiley=huh.gif]

Title: Re: Histamines & CHs
Post by UN_SOLVED on Jun 2^nd, 2004, 10:44am

Cluster headaches are also sometimes called Histamine headaches. "no specific cause has been found for the disorder, but it appears to be related to a release of histamine, serotonin, or similar substances from body tissues."
I've heard some neuro's say that a "Histamine drip therapy" might stop a cycle while others say it will make you worse. I've never had it done. Too afraid of the outcome.

Here are a few links that may help.

http://health.allrefer.com/health/cluster-headaches-info.html
http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000786.cfm
http://www.meldrum.demon.co.uk/migraine/clusterfaq3.txt
http://www.vbmc.org/ency/article/000786.htm

Unsolved

Title: Re: Histamines & CHs
Post by ave on Jun 3^rd, 2004, 6:32am

Never had any type of allergy in my life - still got clusters.

Take into account that a great many people have allergies, but only a tiny percentage of the population have clusters.

So...

Title: Re: Histamines & CHs
Post by floridian on Jun 3^rd, 2004, 10:02am

Histamine is one of many inflammitory substances that are elevated during a cluster attack - others include substance P, nitric oxide, CGRP, several bradykinins.

Some people report that anti-histamines help them, others get little or no relief from that type of med. Given the low cost and known side effects profile, antihistamines may be worth a try.

Quote:

Headache. 1997 May;37(5):296-8.
Antihistamine responsive cluster headache in a teenaged girl.

Neubauer D, Kuhar M, Ravnik IM.

Episodic cluster headache is a well-recognized entity usually starting in the second decade of life. Uncommonly, the first typical symptoms may present in the first decade of life, but are rarely recognized as such during childhood. We report a 12-year-old girl who presented with a 1-year history of bouts of right-sided hemicrania with ipsilateral, clearly demarcated, redness and itching of the skin of the face, lasting from 15 minutes to 2 hours per day. The episodes recurred up to several times daily for a few days and were followed by remissions lasting up to 2 months. Thorough investigations failed to prove any definite cause. Antihistamine prophylaxis, first with astemizole and then with loratadine, proved to be very effective. During the follow-up period of more than 3 years, such a prophylactic regimen provided excellent relief, with only two relapses due to noncompliance. We suggest that in a sequential treatment trial for cluster headache during childhood, antihistamines should have their place, especially in those cases where clinical evidence may suggest histamine involvement.

Quote:

Cephalalgia. 1990 Oct;10(5):221-8.
Cluster headache: ultrastructural evidence for mast cell degranulation and interaction with nerve fibres in the human temporal artery.

Dimitriadou V, Henry P, Brochet B, Mathiau P, Aubineau P.

It has been suggested that histamine plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cluster headache. In addition, both neurogenic and vascular components have been described during cluster headache attacks without an obvious anatomical link between them. Our ultrastructural observations of human temporal arteries from cluster headache patients and their comparison to those from a control group strongly suggest that mast cells may be this link. Mast cells in both groups show a very close apposition with nerve fibres, suggesting a functional interaction between them. Moreover, in the cluster headache group exclusively, adventitial mast cells show profound morphological modifications suggesting progressive degranulation. These data strongly suggest that mast cells could be directly or indirectly involved in the pathophysiology of cluster headaches.

Drugs like cromolyn and nutrients like quercetin & quercetrin (in apples, onions, other fruits and veggies) are mast cell stabilizers - they make mast cells less eager to dump their histamine packages. This approach has even fewer side effects than histamine blockers, which can cause drowsiness etc. Mast cell stabilizers and histamine blockers work by different mechanisms, but I'm not sure off hand if they can be taken together.

Title: Re: Histamines & CHs
Post by Ueli on Jun 3^rd, 2004, 12:38pm

I've had some bad experience with histamine.
I love our hard, fully ripened Swiss cheese (not to be confused with the blubbery surrogate offered in American stores). It has some histamines in it (and therefore is on the M. trigger list), but they usually don't harm me, I eat cheese every day for breakfast.
However, a few times when I added a bread and cheese snack to my midnight beer to be prepared for a long TV session, I was hit with a monster attack of 3 hours.
I later learned that alcohol speeds up the uptake of histamines a hundredfold, and the resulting histamine burst was strong enough to trigger a giant attack.

BTW, the gurus of the DMKG (German Headache Society) list antihistamines among the "ineffective or obsolete" treatments.

PFNADs
Ueli [smiley=smokin.gif]

Title: Re: Histamines & CHs
Post by floridian on Jun 3^rd, 2004, 1:35pm

Here's another mast cell stabilizer - pycnogenol. Pycnogenol is derrived from pine bark. Grape seed extract often has similiar effects, although there is more natural variation in grape products. While normal antihistamines (histamine blockers) take effect quickly, cromolyn/quercetrin/pycnogenol take time to work - a week or two at full dose is usually needed for a mast cell stabilizer to become fully active.

Quote:

Phytother Res. 2003 Jan;17(1):66-9.
Pycnogenol inhibits the release of histamine from mast cells.

Sharma SC, Sharma S, Gulati OP.

Oxygen derived free radicals are now increasingly regarded as a primary force of tissue destruction and also have the ability to release histamine from mast cells. Pycnogenol is an extract of the bark of French maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) containing bioflavonoids with a potent ability to scavenge free radicals. Therefore Pycnogenol was investigated for inhibition of histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells. In addition, its effects were compared with sodium cromoglycate, a known inhibitor of histamine release from the mast cell. Rat peritoneal mast cells were isolated and purified by differential centrifugation and cells pooled from 3-4 animals were suspended at approximately 10(6) cells/mL buffered salt solution. Histamine release was induced by compound 48/80 or the calcium ionophore A-23187 and estimated from supernatant following extraction and by fluorimetric methods. Pycnogenol produced a concentration dependent inhibition of histamine release induced by the two secretagogues. Its inhibitory effect on mast cell histamine release was favourably comparable to sodium cromoglycate.