effects of heating coagulation of middle meningeal artery on plasma cgrp level and cfos expression in migraine rat triggered by nitroglycerin current theory or hypothesis relevant to migraine indicates that trigeminovascular system plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of migraine particularly release of neuropeptide and induction of cfos like immunoreactivity cfos li within trigeminal nucleus caudalis neurons are regarded as activation markers of trigeminovascular system in the present study we set up a rat model for migraine triggered by nitroglycerin ntg and coagulated the middle meningeal artery by heating using this model we determined the plasma calcitonin generelated peptide cgrp level as well as the expression of cfos in trigeminal nucleus caudalis of rats we found that ntg led to markedly increase in plasma cgrp level and cfos expression in trigeminal nucleus caudalis compared with the isotonic salinetreated group p 005 more importantly heat coagulation of middle meningeal artery could decrease plasma cgrp level and cfos expression in trigeminal nucleus caudalis p 005 heat coagulation of middle meningeal artery may ameliorate sufferings of rat induced by ntg and play an important role in restraining the release of cgrp as well as the activation of neurons in trigeminal nucleus caudalis in rats following ntg infusion