Talk:Histamine

nomenclature
The chemical structure is wrong. The hydrogen atoms should be shown on the ethylamine nitrogen atom and one of the ring nitrogen atoms.

From Gizzy:- Correct ... Well Done!!!

Imbalances
I can find absolutely no reference to histapenia or histadelia and the effects listed in any reputable medical sourcebook or database. None of the pharmacists I've worked with have heard of it, either, though I haven't spoken with my physician about it. What are the primary sources for this information? Archmage Brian 14:45, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

These words were coined in the early 1970s by Carl C. Pfeiffer, the director of the Brain Bio Center in Skillman (just north of Princeton), NJ (He'd been chief pharmacologist of the Navy for 20 years, and was both an MD and a PhD; his wife was also his colleague.) to indicate two of several postulated alternative mechanisms at work in "the schizophrenias". He wrote about four or five books for the general public and (I suspect) many scholarly papers. In particular, I recall them being discussed in _Mental and Elemental Nutrients_ and _Zinc and Other Micronutrients_ (?). Somebody else will have to look into this, though, since it's been many years since I read them. There is now another Brain Bio Center, located in Colorado, I think. Like Pfeiffer, they're continuing the work of the orthomolecular psychiatry school, founded by Abram Hoffer and Humphrey Osmond. If I recall correctly, histapenia is treated mainly with niacin and histadelia with pyridoxine, among numerous supporting nutrients and pharmaceuticals. --Marshall Price of Miami-- D021317c 12:09, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Incidentally, the words I was referring to above are "histadelia" and "histapenia". Pfeiffer is in the hall of fame at http://www.orthomolecular.org/history/index.shtml D021317c 22:07, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Just registering my opinion on the removal of histadelia and histapenia: of course it's not accepted by mainstream medicine. Neither is homeopathy, so you think we should delete the pages on that? I honestly think homeopathy, natural medicine, alternative medicine, etc etc are all total utter bullshit and yes, delusions. Same for pretty much all kook science. However, even if we assume that the piece of text that remains on the page (that histamine levels are linked to schizophrenia), it is even more ridiculous - and cocky - to blindly say "Nothing can possibly ever go wrong with histamine activity and we know absolutely everything about it."

Saying that there's been no research on it, therefore it can't exist, is possibly worse still. It is known for a fact that histamine activity through the h3 receptor messes with the activities of a number of neurochemicals, so it would be utterly ridiculous to claim that it's impossible for histamine abnormalities to cause, say, mood swings. Research is needed.

But yes, wikipedia is not about new research. It's about reporting what other people have found, which both the original text and the new text with this section removed both completely fail to do: what it SHOULD be saying, REGARDLESS of whether the disorder exists, is that some people believe histamine may play a role in certain disorders, though the mainstream medical community has not acknowledged any problems.

As for me? I know that anecdotal evidence is utterly useless (AFAIK it's all UFOlogy has, and we all know how ridiculous THAT is), but it makes a bit of an impression on you when you find the first google result for histadelia has a long list of seemingly completely unrelated symptoms and you have had every one of them for as long as you can remember. Never believed in a single piece of "alternative medicine" or such before or since. Oh, and no doctor I've seen has been able to explain why I become murderously irritable (literally) and get an itchy rash at the same time at seemingly random times. 144.132.96.24 07:21, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

I concur. Histamine imbalance is one area of alternative medicine that needs to be studied more. It is on MUCH firmer scientific footing than homeopathy, for instance. Which is more reasonable? That water has a "memory", or that histamine, which is a FRIGGING NEUROTRANSMITTER for Pete's sake, may have something to with moods. Considering the fact that modern medicine really is much further behind in the area of psychiatry than in other areas (why does lexapro work for some people, but not for others? No one knows why). Depression usually results in a low, or non-existant sex drive, but not for everyone. Histadelia is the perfect explanantion for why some people have depression with a (sometimes annoyingly) high sex drive. 71.222.142.147 18:26, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Uh, that was me. Also if someone says that's likely to be an allergic response: yes, histamine IS vital in the allergic response; if someone is having an allergic reaction their histamine levels WILL go up and that's something no sane doctor will deny. PianoSpleen 07:25, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't know much about histapenia but histadelia sounds an awful lot like histamine intolerance, where the ratio between accumulated histamine and the enzymes required to metabolise histamine are unequal, either through excess histamine, or through a deficiency in the enzyme. This is not alternative medicine but a recognised medical condition more commonly associated with food intolerances and immunology than psychiatry (not because it involves the immune system directly, but because food intolerances are often confused with food allergies). The following article summarises some of the current information on histamine intolerance: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/1185

There is also a more general article in wikipedia on food intolerances which has more links: Food Intolerance

Personally I think it is very misleading to say that health issues caused by high levels of histamine is not accepted by the mainstream medical community, only by alternative medicine. I was diagnosed by the mainstream medical community, thank you very much, and the doctors at the Royal Prince Alfred Allergy Clinic in Sydney don't seem to have a problem with it at all. 202.67.91.36 (talk) 23:35, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

H substance
What is H substance? The article says it is "held to be similar to histamine; or possibly to be histamine itself" - is this a misconception or a mistake? In other articles it appears to be a synonym for Substance H, which redirects to Hh antigen system. --apers0n 09:16, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Angiogenesis
On the Histamine antagonist page there is mention that Histamine promotes angiogenesis. but there is no mention on this page. So I will add it in along with this reference. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7540412 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Haaaa (talk • contribs) 09:22, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

Histamine inactivation
Your skin is irritated, the mast cells release histamine, you itch, you scratch. But how long does it take for the histamine to inactivate? What modifies this time? Does scratching inactivate the histamine, or otherwise reduce the itch?-69.87.200.131 00:43, 9 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I've found that scratching makes hives worse, if anything. Sure, it helps the itching feel a little better, but it must make the hives release more histamine or something - as a sufferer of about 83923 allergies, it seems to be the case (for me, at least). flod logic 01:41, 23 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Scratching actually stimulates sensory neurons in the skin in the area of the itch, and in a sense overtakes the pathway the itch would travel down to the central nervous system. That's why the scratching only temporarily relieves the itching, and of course the scratching irritates the area further, and I imagine would release more histamine, like flod said. Anyway, I have no idea about histamine inactivation though... Ccroberts @   04:33, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

chemotaxis
Shown to have a role in white blood cell chemotaxis? I gotta read about this - hook a curious brother up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.119.168.188 (talk) 07:50, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Gastronintestinal and metabolization
For the TODO list: numerous people are selling "histamine pills", containing DAO as a treatment for food sensitivity. The claim/trend needs to be documented, along with any supporting/contradicting evidence -- likely on the page on DAO but there should be mention/crosslink here. Also perhaps worth mentioning foods with high histamine content. (71.192.212.78 (talk) 17:48, 14 November 2009 (UTC))

A hormone?
I've learned that histamine is a hormone, but the word "hormone" isn't even mentioned in this article. Am I wrong? --193.157.225.219 (talk) 09:37, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

Venom
Worth mentioning that histamine is an active component in various venoms? Off hand, I can think of stinging nettles and giant centipedes.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.255.106 (talk) 20:04, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Histamine intolerance
This was added by

There is also a condition known as Histamine Intolerance (HIT, not to be confused with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV) that results from the body's inability to break down histamine. This is caused by a low-activity version of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO) reduced presence of this enzyme, or a combination of the two ( http://www.histamineintolerance.org.uk/About.aspx ).

The reference is a website (link) that is rather light on scientific information and is mostly built on the conclusions of (Am J Clin Nutr 2007). The concept, however, gets only <20 PubMed hits. Most of the literature is from Germany and focuses on a purposed deficiency of diamine oxidase. I have the feeling that this is not a concept that we should introduce without proper discussion, possibly supported with better proof. JFW &#124; T@lk  16:41, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Hi there, I'm a little new to this. I added a citation yesterday to back up the histamine intolerance part of this entry. It's now gone. I would love to know why? Here are the studies:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1185.full

full: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1185.full

pdf from the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK www.nuh.nhs.uk/handlers/downloads.ashx?id=16965

While I personally question whether histamine intolerance is or is not a more complicated disorder (mast cell activation or mastocytosis), I believe it warrants at least adding the citation to what is already there. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.139.252.62 (talk) 09:28, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Properties section
The Properties section starts off with "Histamine forms color hygroscopic crystals that melt at 84°C". The way the word "color" is used in the sentence does not make grammatical sense. If this is a typographical error, such as omitting the past participle suffix "ed" from "colored", it needs to be changed to "Histamine forms colored hygroscopic crystals that melt at 84°C". If it is not a typo, then whatever variety of hygroscopic crystal a "color hygroscopic crystal" is needs to be explained. Linstrum (talk) 19:57, 23 November 2013 (UTC)


 * This article isn't getting written the right way. We have reams of unsourced data, and then people go back to fix "bad grammar" without checking....   so far as I know, histamine is white - the salts are white - but I so far haven't seen a citation you can even crystallize the base let alone what color it is.  I used some ad hoc references but really much more needs to be done here to put this into proper order.  Otherwise it's a game of telephone. Wnt (talk) 15:52, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Suppressive effects --> Protective effects
"While histamine has stimulatory effects upon neurons, it also has suppressive ones that protect against the susceptibility to convulsion, drug sensitization, denervation supersensitivity, ischemic lesions and stress.[10] It has also been suggested that histamine controls the mechanisms by which memories and learning are forgotten.[11]"

After reading that, "suppressive effects" didn't seem to be a fitting title, and while I view "protective effects" as better, I don't think it adequately encompassses the last sentence. Thoughts? Erebusthedark (talk) 01:24, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

I know nothing about Histamine&Appetite regulation
And I think it would be great if someone proficient in this field could add some data to the article... Ben-Natan (talk) 06:36, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Not prepared to take this on just now, but let me leave a pointer to as a good source. Looie496 (talk) 15:35, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
 * People? Ben-Yeudith (talk) 15:55, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

Atopic Dermatitis
A few sentences would seem warranted about the role histamine plays in eczema-related skin conditions, such as neuro-dermatitis or atopic-dermatitis. Release of histamine upon scratching (pruritis) and so forth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.102.230.155 (talk) 15:09, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

H1 receptor discrepancy
How can the same H1 type receptors cause both smooth cell constriction (bonchoconstriction) and smooth cell relaxation (vasodilatation)? Ca2+ signalling cause constriction. I think the vasodilatation is caused by the H2 receptors, so the vasodilatation should be removed from the H1 part of the table under 'Mechanism of action' part 193.6.168.249 (talk) 14:13, 16 December 2016 (UTC)

Vasodilation
Binding of histamine to endothelium causes contraction of the endothelial cells, leading to increased interendothelial spaces, increased vascular permeability, and leakage of plasma into the tissues. Histamine also stimulates endothelial cells to synthesize vascular smooth muscle cell relaxants, such as prostacyclin (PGI2) and nitric oxide, which cause vasodilation [...] (Abbas et al (2018). Cellular and molecular immunology p.447)

So it seems that histamin primarely increases vascular permeability via endothelial cells contraction and induces Vasodilation via smooth muscle relaxation.

Also In this article we can read that histamine strongly increases vascular permeability via disrupting endothelial barrier --Vardos (talk) 16:30, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

Histamine science
Where do scientists discover and creating histamine? 72.69.243.12 (talk) 06:27, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

Missing information about female sexual dysfunction in the section Erection and sexual function
It's absurd to see that this section mentions sexual dysfunction in only males. The amounts of certain tissues always varies among individuals, but erectile tissues are usually present in all individuals since birth.

Examples of female erectile tissues include the clitoris and vestibular bulbs.

Input from reliable sources is needed. I found a paper with relevant discussion:
 * Histamine receptors in the female reproductive system. Part II. The role of histamine in the placenta, histamine receptors and the uterus contractility

&mdash; CrafterNova  [ TALK ] [ CONT ] 13:44, 3 October 2023 (UTC)