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Nitric Oxide Blocker May Be New Treatment For Chronic Tension Headache LONDON, ENGLAND -- Jan. 22, 1999 -- A study in this week's issue of The Lancet shows that a substance that inhibits production of nitric oxide can relieve the pain of chronic tension-type headaches. The substance, monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), acts by blocking the enzyme nitric oxide synthase. This biological catalyst brings about the synthesis of nitric oxide, a chemical that has been implicated in many processes in the body, including regulation of blood pressure, defence against infection, function of the platelets and transmission of some types of nerve impulses. Dr. Messoud Ashina and colleagues from Glostrup Hospital and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, studied 16 patients with chronic tension-type headache. Each patient had one intravenous infusion of L-NMMA and another of inactive placebo, on two separate days when they had a typical headache. Before treatment, then at 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120 minutes after the start of treatment, the patient indicated on a 100 mm line the severity of the headache (one end of the line is no pain and the other is the worst pain imaginable). The average pain score was lower 120 minutes after treatment started than before with L-NMMA and with placebo. However, the change in average score was significantly larger with the active chemical, falling from 49 to 33 with L-NMMA and from 44 to 40 with placebo. The results of this preliminary trial suggest that nitric oxide is involved in the mechanism leading to the pain of tension-type headache. Related Links: The Lancet E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version