Vidal Carou ● A1, Sabater Sales ● B2, Titus Albareda ● C3.
(A1) Nutrition and Bromatology Department of University of Barcelona.
(B2) MD in Pharmacy. Responsible for scientific research at Sabater Analysis (LABCO).
(C3) Honorary Member of the Spanish Society of Neurology, and Scientific Advisor of the Spanish Association of Headache Patients, AEPAC
3-2-2015
Introduction
Migraine is a complex, recurrent and disabling disease, but its etiopathogeny remains unknown, so it is necessary to find new approaches to the biochemical mediators of the disease. Histamine, one of the most important mediators, is mainly metabolized by DAO (Diamine Oxidase enzyme). Therefore, it is believed that a decrease in DAO activity may cause histamine excess, increasing the risk of suffering from clinical pictures such as migraine, among others.
Objective
To determine the rate of migraine patients presenting DAO deficiency compared to the observed rate in general population without migraine.
Method
Target population consisted of migraine volunteers. Healthy controls were selected among volunteers of their micro social environment. Given a total sample size of 160 individuals, the studied aimed to determine DAO activity level in the participants by analytical determination using a validated procedure.
Materials
IHS diagnostic sheet, patient information sheet, informed consent form, 160 analytical tests to determine DAO, data collection logbook, documents for the registration in the data protection agency.
Resuls
48.8 % of migraine patients presented values of much reduced DAO activity, and 46% of reduced activity. 95% of migraine patients experienced other symptoms related to histamine intolerance. The average value obtained for DAO activity is lower in the migraine group, with a significant difference (p=0.001).
Conclusion
The results confirm the scope of the research and show that DAO activity is significantly lower in migraine patients compared to controls.