PLATELET SEROTONIN TRANSPORTER IN DRUG-NAIVE MIGRAINOUS CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Platelet H-3imipramine binding was measured in 17 children and adole scents suffering from common (n = 10) and classical (n = 7) migraine a nd 10 healthy control subjects. All patients had more than a 1-year hi story of the disease and suffered at least one attack per month. All s ubjects had been drug-free for at least 4 weeks prior to the study and had never been treated with drugs active at the serotonergic system. An increased density in H-3imipramine binding sites was detected in the migraine patients (+ 51%; p < 0.05). The increase in maximal bindi ng was more prominent in the classical migraine group (+ 63%) than in the common migraine group (+ 43%). These results disagree with previou s studies that reported decreased platelet imipramine binding in adult migraine patients. The discrepancy may be related to chronicity of dr ug treatment, long-term duration of disease and comorbidity of depress ion and anxiety disorders in adult migrainous patients.