AUTHOR=Chazot Paul L. , Johnston Laura , Mcauley Edel , Bonner Stephen 

TITLE=Histamine and Delirium: Current Opinion

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00299

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2019.00299

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Delirium is a very common, but refractory clinical state, notably present in intensive care and in the growing aging community. It is characterized by fluctuating disturbances in a number of key behavioral features, namely cognition, mood, attention, arousal, and self-awareness. Histamine is arguably the most pleotropic neurotransmitter in the human brain, and this review provides a rationale, and proposes that this neuroactive amine plays a role in modulating the characteristic features of delirium. While centrally permeable H<sub>1</sub> and H<sub>2</sub> histamine receptor antagonists have pro-delirium potential, we propose that centrally permeable H<sub>3</sub> histamine receptor antagonists may provide an exciting new strategy to combat delirium. The Histamine H<sub>4</sub> receptor may also have an indirect inflammatory neuroglial role which requires further exploration.</p>