Blin O, Azulay J P, Masson G, Aubrespy G, Serratrice G
Clinique des Maladies due Système Nerveux et de l'Appareil Locomoteur, CHU Timone, Marseille, France.
Clin Neuropharmacol. 1991 Feb;14(1):91-5. doi: 10.1097/00002826-199102000-00008.
Migraine patients usually exhibit hypersensitivity to dopaminergic agonists, but the tests used (such as the so called "piribedil test") preferentially assess the sensitivity of the peripheral dopaminergic receptors. Apomorphine-induced yawning may be useful in the evaluation of central dopaminergic receptor sensitivity. Nine migraine patients were included in an age- and sex-matched control study. They had been without treatment for 1 month and free of a migraine attack for at least 7 days. Apomorphine hydrochloride (5 micrograms/kg) was administered subcutaneously, and yawning was recorded by two observers. The cumulative number of yawns as a function of time was studied. The comparison of the regression graphs showed a significant difference between migraine patients and controls. Migraine patients exhibited enhanced responsiveness to apomorphine challenge. This finding supports the hypothesis of a constant central dopaminergic hypersensitivity.
