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Increasing evidence suggests that vasoactive neuropeptides such as pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP-38), substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide are involved in the pathophysiology of migraine in adults, but their role in pediatric migraineurs remains unclear. We prospectively investigated plasma levels of these vasoactive neuropeptides in pediatric migraine patients without aura and compared the results with those of age-matched healthy controls.

Thirty-eight children aged 6–18 years with migraine without aura and 20 age-matched control subjects were included in the study. Neuropeptides in plasma samples from the controls, and in either the ictal or interictal periods in pediatric migraine without aura, were measured using ELISA.

PACAP-38 and vasoactive intestinal peptide levels in both ictal and interictal plasma …