Molecular and Functional PET-fMRI Measures of Analgesia in Migraine

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Migraine
Healthy

Interventions: Other: Placebo

Registration Number: NCT01970943

Lead Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Brief Summary: The placebo effect is a phenomenon that has experienced major advances of its understanding in the last decade. However, mechanisms of placebo analgesia in chronic pain patients have yet to be compared to healthy subjects. The investigators study aims to investigate the magnitude of placebo response and related opioid release in patients that suffer from episodic migraines as compared to healthy controls. In particular, the investigators are looking to map brain activity during placebo analgesia using modern brain imaging techniques such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The investigators hypothesis is that placebo response and the availability of opioid receptors is reduced in chronic migraine patients.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

Migraine patients with aura with acute episodic migraine meeting the IHS Classification ICHD-II criteria, 3-14 migraines per month.
History of episodic migraine for at least 3 years
Ages 21-50
Male or Female
Right Handed

Matched healthy subjects will also be recruited.

Exclusion Criteria

Other significant disease (systemic or CNS)
Pregnancy
Claustrophobia
Weight >235 lbs (limit of MRI table)
Significant drug including alcohol history (> 7 glasses of alcohol per week)
Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) score > 25 (moderate to severe depression)
Any metal implants incompatible with MRI (including dental bridges, crowns, retainers, orthodontic devices e.g. braces, IUDs, aneurysm clips or other devices, tattoos containing metallic ink, cardiac pacemakers, prosthetic hear valves, other prostheses, neurostimulator devices, implanted infusion pumps, exposure to shrapnel or metal filings, cochlear implants, etc.)
Previous significant research related exposure to ionizing radiation.
History of allergy or adverse reaction to opioids
Significant medical history of such as seizure disorder, diabetes, alcoholism, cardiac disease including coronary artery disease, psychiatric problems; drug addiction, respiratory problems, liver disease, etc.
Positive drug of abuse screen (excluding medications currently prescribed for their clinical condition, e.g. opioids, benzodiazepines, etc.)
Patients with migraine <72 hours prior to the experiments will not be included to ensure inter-ictal state.
Opioids or preventative medication such as topiramate, SSRIs etc.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Saline Injection (Placebo)	Placebo	PET-fMRI investigation on healthy subjects and patients with migraine. Placebo condition.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-10 Pain Rating	1 day	This study will investigate how placebo may reduce experimental pain induced by contact heat. Patients rate heat stimulus intensity on a 0-10 scale, where 0 is no pain, and 10 is most intense pain possible. Data is reported to the placebo condition. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) consists of a straight line with the endpoints defining extreme limits such as 'no pain at all' and 'most intense pain possible'. The patient is asked to mark his pain level on the line between the two endpoints.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
PET Diprenorphine	1 day	We sought to find if endogenous opioid levels and endogenous opioid release induced by placebo administration differentiates between the no intervention first, then placebo group compared to the placebo first, then no intervention group in migraine patients.
Pain Anticipation fMRI BOLD Signal	1 day	We imaged the subjects under an MRI scan. All data was collected on a Siemens 3 Tesla MR scanner using a PETcompatible eight-channel head coil. Structural T1 weighted MPRAGE Functional scans were preprocessed using slice timing correction, realignment, normalization, and smoothing (8 mm FWHM Gaussian filter), using SPM12. In each condition (placebo \& no drug) subjects underwent four sets of pain anticipation at high and low temperatures (somatosensory control condition). The stimuli were modeled as boxcar time series, with additional regressors for temperature ramp-up, ramp-down, pain rating sequence, and six motion regressors.data were collected for each of the two PET-MR scans. Contrasts analyzed included pain anticipation. The values for the 8 sets of anticipation, for both the migraine and the healthy group are combined
Pain Stimulation fMRI BOLD Signal	1 day	We imaged the subjects under an MRI scan. All data was collected on a Siemens 3 Tesla MR scanner using a PETcompatible eight-channel head coil. Structural T1 weighted MPRAGE Functional scans were preprocessed using slice timing correction, realignment, normalization, and smoothing (8 mm FWHM Gaussian filter), using SPM12. In each condition (placebo \& no drug) subjects underwent four sets of pain stimulation at high and low temperatures (somatosensory control condition). The stimuli were modeled as boxcar time series, with additional regressors for temperature ramp-up, ramp-down, pain rating sequence, and six motion regressors.data were collected for each of the two PET-MR scans. Contrasts analyzed included pain stimulation. The values for the 8 sets of stimulation, for both the migraine and the healthy group are combined