Interictal Levels Research Articles

SUNCT syndrome: forehead sweating pattern.

The forehead sweating function has been assessed in SUNCT syndrome--a short-lasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache syndrome with autonomic phenomena on the symptomatic side (conjunctival injection, lacrimation, etc.). In the three patients (of a total of six) who could be studied during paroxysms, increased evaporation was present on the symptomatic side of the forehead compared to the non-symptomatic side during attacks or to the symptomatic side between attacks. Basal sweating was generally within control limits, so long as the attack frequency was not so high as to influence the interictal level. During attacks precipitated by eating chocolate or sour apple (in the case of one of the patients), forehead sweating was also increased on the symptomatic side. The forehead sweating responses to heating and pilocarpine were without any notable or systematic asymmetries. The forehead sweating pattern in SUNCT syndrome may differ from the patterns in unilateral headaches like cluster headache, on the one hand (in which there is generally an asymmetry during heating and pilocarpine tests), and chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH) and cervicogenic headache, on the other (where there is no systematic increase during attacks.

Cerebrospinal fluid and serum levels of dopa, catechols, and monoamine metabolites in patients with epilepsy.

We measured CSF and serum concentrations of monoamines and monoamine metabolites in normal control subjects and in patients with partial epilepsy between and less than 2 h after complex partial seizures (CPS) or secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures (SGTCs). After SGTCs, concentrations of norepinephrine in CSF were significantly higher (p less than 0.05) than interictal concentrations, concentrations after PSs, and concentrations in control subjects. Serum epinephrine levels also were significantly higher after SGTCs than interictal and control subjects' levels. CSF HVA levels were significantly higher after PSs than interictal or control subjects' levels. CSF concentrations of norepinephrine and its intraneuronal metabolite, dihydroxyphenylglycol, were highly correlated, both interictally and following SGTCs, whereas correlations between serum and CSF levels of these catechols generally were not statistically significant. The results indicate that seizures are associated with release of catecholamines in the central nervous system.

Ovarian Steroid Levels in Migraine With and Without Aura

Radioimmunoassays were used to measure interictal levels of ovarian steroids (oestradiol, total oestrogens and progesterone) in migraine patients at the onset of menses and coincident with the luteinizing hormone surge preceding ovulation. Results of these verified biochemically-contrasting points of the ovarian cycle were used to compare 13 migraine patients without aura and 6 migraine patients with aura with 17 non-migraine women. No group differences were found for physiological basal levels of ovarian steroids measured at menses. Preceding ovulation elevation in oestradiol levels relative to normal was found in migraine patients with aura but not in migraine patients without aura. These results suggest that a variation in oestradiol levels is an important factor in the different clinical expressions of migraine.

Beta-endorphin, somatostatin, and prolactin levels in cerebrospinal fluid of epileptic patients after generalised convulsion.

The possible role of different peptidergic systems in the postictal stage of human epilepsy was studied by measuring beta-endorphin, somatostatin, and prolactin levels by radioimmunoassay of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from nine epileptic patients. The first sample was taken within 2 hours after generalised tonic-clonic convulsion, and the second sample was obtained interictally after 1-4 days without any kind of clinically observable seizures. beta-endorphin was elevated postictally (p = 0.044) compared with interictal levels. SLI and PROL were similar in both samples. The present study suggests that in humans beta-endorphin is released into CSF during generalised seizures. This may indicate that neurons containing beta-endorphin are activated during a seizure.