MAO activity, serotonin metabolism and aggregation of platelets from migraine patients. A preliminary study.

Platelets of migraine patients showed abnormal behavior such as hyperaggregability and reduced monoamine oxidase activity (MAO). We measured the MAO activity, serotonin (5-HT) content and release, adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced aggregation, and the prostacyclin (PGI2) antiaggregatory effect using the same sample of platelets from migraine patients to find out if these characteristics are intercorrelated. A significant correlation between MAO activity and sensitivity to PGI2 was found.