Claire's Head by Catherine Bush

sex-based differences in serotonin distribution. Men have more in the left frontal lobe, women’s is more evenly distributed. Women don’t retain brain serotonin levels as well as men without eating foods containing tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin. Serotonin levels drop precipitously during a migraine attack, as much as 60 per cent. We’re trying to fix wherethe serotonin activity occurs, what triggers the drop, all getting back to the fundamentals of what exactly initiates migraine.”
    â€œGive me a sec,” Claire said, scribbling. “Did she say who the piece was for?”
    â€œProbably. I don’t remember. L’Aube might. It’s true we never heard back from her but that’s not unusual with journalists.”
    â€œWas there anything particular in what you said that seemed to catch her attention, that she might have wanted to follow up on?”
    â€œWe talked a little about drugs, too. The failure of current triptan drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier and thus affect what’s going on in the brain stem. That’s the goal, ultimately.”
    â€œTo cross the blood-brain barrier.”
    He nodded.
    â€œHow close are you to that?”
    â€œWell, first we have to understand the mechanism.”
    â€œDid you give her any other leads? People to contact?”
    â€œThere’s the guy at Sunnybrook in Toronto. Some good people in the UK.”
    He gave her names and she wrote them down. “Did she happen to mention that she gets migraines?”
    â€œShe mentioned it. Not auras but pretty frequent, severe, kind of drug resistant by the sound of it.”
    â€œWould you happen to know if she had a migraine when she came to see you?”
    â€œAt one point she said so but she wasn’t obviously incapacitated.”
    â€œDid she seem in any way upset or on edge?”
    â€œNo, but she wanted something I wasn’t prepared to give her. We do these studies, examining serotonin levels in patient volunteers during the course of a migraine. You have to have not taken any drugs in the last twenty-four hours and we put you through a PET scan. She said she hadn’t taken anything and was willing. But she wouldn’t be in town for any kind of follow-up, and that’s part of the study. And there’s a preliminary interview. We’re not set up for walk-ins. Though she was very persuasive.”
    â€œSo what happened?”
    â€œI told her, under the existing protocols, I couldn’t use her in the study. That was pretty much it.”
    â€œWhen was this?”
    â€œAround three, four in the afternoon. Hang on, I’ll check the date.” He picked up the phone and dialled. “Pierre, a quick one. Got a woman here whose sister’s disappeared. Journalist, here in March. Yeah, I talked to her. You spoke to her by phone. Okay. It’s in your book?” He looked at Claire. “March 15. Three p.m.” Hung up the phone. “You get them, too, don’t you?”
    Which took her aback. “Yeah. Do you?”
    â€œNo, go on, hate me. You seem to know the language. There’s a physiological predisposition that runs in families, as I’m sure you know. Mother? Grandmother?” Claire nodded. “Yours as bad as your sister’s?”
    â€œNot quite as bad.”
    â€œThe usual tyramine-based triggers – chocolate, red wine, et cetera, et cetera?”
    â€œOther ones, too.”
    â€œThe drugs work for you?”
    â€œMostly.”
    He rose to his feet. “I hope some of this helps. I hope you find her. If you have any more questions, let me know.”
    Dr. Tagliacci swept Claire out of his office, the pressure of his hand still on her palm as he sprinted ahead of her, white coat flapping, down the hall. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. After bumping into Pierre L’Aube in the reception area, who confirmed that he had spoken briefly to Rachel but not seen