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Treatment of Migraine and Cluster Headache with Calcium Antagonists

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Cerebral Ischemia and Calcium

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Abstract

A number of pharmacological agents have recently become available that are capable of limiting or blocking calcium passage through cellular membrane channels. These drugs are termed calcium antagonists or calcium channel or calcium entry blockers. Cell membranes of smooth muscle and nerve cells have several different calcium channels which may be selectively altered by calcium channel blockers [28, 29]. Since the cellular entry of calcium initiates contraction of vascular smooth muscle, calcium channel blockers exert both antispasmodic and slight vasodilator actions [6]. Calcium channels are susceptible to ischemia resulting in calcium entry with intracellular “overload”, which may be responsible for cell damage and eventually cell death [7, 26]. Calcium antagonists also exert protective actions against ischemic and anoxic damage to both nerve cells and smooth muscle.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cerebral Blood Flow Laboratory, Veterans Administration Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas, TX, 77211, USA

    J. S. Meyer, J. Lotfi & M. Kobari

Authors
  1. J. S. Meyer
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  2. J. Lotfi
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  3. M. Kobari
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurologische Universitätsklinik, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, D-5300, Bonn 1, Germany

    Alexander Hartmann

  2. Physiologisches Institut der Universität, Im Neuenheimer Feld 326, D-6900, Heidelberg, Germany

    Wolfgang Kuschinsky

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Meyer, J.S., Lotfi, J., Kobari, M. (1989). Treatment of Migraine and Cluster Headache with Calcium Antagonists. In: Hartmann, A., Kuschinsky, W. (eds) Cerebral Ischemia and Calcium. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85863-5_54

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85863-5_54

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-85865-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-85863-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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