Whole Blood and Plasma Histamine in Common Migraine

Abstract

Whole blood and plasma histamine levels were measured in 27 non-medicated patients with common migraine. In nine cases blood was drawn 1–2 h after the onset of a migraine attack. The whole blood histamine levels of migraineurs and controls did not differ significantly. In contrast, histamine levels were significantly increased in plasma from patients both during and between migraine attacks, as compared with controls ( p < 0.001). Finally, plasma taken from migraine patients induced a significantly greater release of histamine from control whole blood than did plasma taken from control subjects ( p < 0.01).