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Dietary Migraine and Tyramine Metabolism

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Abstract

MIGRAINE afflicts some 10–15% of the population, which includes a subgroup of dietary migraine sufferers, all of whom specifically exclude certain foods from their diet. When Hanington1 studied this group extensively all subjects reacted adversely to chemically pure tyramine. Indeed, an oral dose of 100 mg of the pure chemical precipitated a migraine attack entirely indistinguishable from the classic migraine of the subjects concerned1,2. Because of this significant correlation, we decided to investigate the metabolism of tyramine in normal and dietary migraine subjects using large doses of tyramine and, separately, tracer doses of 14C-tyramine.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry, Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, W1

    IVOR SMITH & A. H. KELLOW

  2. Institute of Neurological Studies, The Middlesex Hospital,

    P. E. MULLEN

  3. The Wellcome Trust, 52 Queen Anne Street, London, W1

    EDDA HANINGTON

Authors
  1. IVOR SMITH
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  2. A. H. KELLOW
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  3. P. E. MULLEN
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  4. EDDA HANINGTON
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SMITH, I., KELLOW, A., MULLEN, P. et al. Dietary Migraine and Tyramine Metabolism. Nature 230, 246–248 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/230246a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/230246a0

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