Reducing cephalic pain in raised intracranial pressure

Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) is associated with altered cerebral haemodynamics and cephalic pain.

The researchers wanted to determine whether lowering ICP (using a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist) could ameliorate the algetic response. They also sought to explore the role of calcitonin gene-related peptide in cephalic pain driven by raised ICP by inhibiting calcitonin gene-related peptide signalling.

They show that a GLP-1R agonist,  exenatide,  lowers ICP and increases pain thresholds in a rat model, while CGRP antagonist,  olcegepant reduces cephalic pain.

The authors suggest that headache pain in diseases associated with raised ICP could be ameliorated therapeutically though blockade of the calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway.

https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awae415/8064584

https://sciencemission.com/Raised-ICP-alters-cephalic-allodynia