[Changes in the activity of plasma beta-endorphin-like-immunoreactivity induced by transcutaneous stimulation of the brain].

A newly devised technique of electrical transcutaneous brain stimulation has been applied to a population of cephalalgic patients in order to assess its proficiency in pain relieving and in increasing the concentration of serum endorphins. A significant pain relief associated with an increase in serum endorphins has been obtained only in those patients in which clinical and instrumental evaluations had identified the headache as one of "organic" origin. By contrast both in "non organic" and in control subjects the technique has proved to be effectiveless. Our results suggest that transcutaneous electrical brain stimulation can affect the release of endogenous opioids relieving pain at least in selected patients.