Migraine associated with head trauma

The Postconcussion Syndrome and Posttraumatic Headaches in Civilians, Soldiers, and Athletes

Posttraumatic headaches are one of the most common and controversial secondary headache types. After a mild traumatic brain, an estimated 11% to 82% of people develop a postconcussion syndrome, which has been controversial for more than 160 years. Headache is estimated as present in 30% to 90% of patients after a mild head injury. Most headaches are tension-type-like or migraine-like. Headaches in civilians, soldiers, athletes, and postcraniotomy are reviewed. The treatments are the same as for the primary headaches. Persistent posttraumatic headaches can continue for many years.

Genetics of Migraine without Aura, Migraine with Aura, Migrainous Disorder, Head Trauma Migraine without Aura and Tension-Type Headache

This review is a tribute to Professor Jes Olesen involvement in the genetics of migraine and tension-type headache as it is coming up to his 60th birthday.

Posttraumatic headaches in civilians, soldiers, and athletes

Posttraumatic headaches are one of the most common and controversial secondary headache types. After mild head injury, more than 50% of people develop a postconcussion syndrome which has been controversial for more than 150 years. Headache is estimated as present in 30% to 90% of patients after mild head injury. Most headaches are of the tension type, although migraines can increase in frequency or occur acutely or chronically de novo. A review is provided of headaches in civilians, soldiers after blast trauma, athletes, and post-craniotomy including pathogenesis. The treatments are the same as for the primary phenotypes.

Prevalence of secondary chronic headaches in a population-based sample of 30-44-year-old persons. The Akershus study of chronic headache

We studied secondary chronic headaches (> or = 15 days/month for at least 3 months) in a random sample of 30 000 persons aged 30-44 years. They received a mailed questionnaire. Those with self-reported chronic headache within the last month and/or year were invited to an interview and examination by a neurological resident. The criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II) were applied. The questionnaire response rate was 71%, and the participation rate of the interview was 74%. Of the 633 participants, 298 had a secondary chronic headache. The 1-year prevalence of secondary chronic headache was 2.14%, i.e. chronic posttraumatic headache 0.21%, chronic headache attributed to whiplash injury 0.17%, post-craniotomy headache 0.02%, medication-overuse headache (MOH) 1.72%, cervicogenic headache 0.17%, headache attributed to chronic rhinosinusitis 0.33% and miscellaneous headaches 0.04%. The majority of those with ICHD-II-defined secondary chronic headache had MOH, while about one-third had other secondary headaches often in combination with MOH.

Etiology of primary headaches: the importance of genes and environment

Results from twin studies show that genes play an important role for susceptibility to migraine. The propensity for migraine to run in some families but not in others arises predominantly from alleles shared by family members and not the shared family environment, and that environmental influences on migraine are unique to the affected family member. The main genetic and environmental architecture for the other two major primary headaches, tension-type and cluster, remains to be elucidated. This review focuses on recent advances in twin studies of primary headaches and the future prospects are outlined.

Post-traumatic headaches

Post-traumatic headaches are one of the most common and controversial secondary headache types. After mild head injury, up to 50% of people develop a post concussion syndrome, which has been controversial for over 135 years. Headache is estimated as present in 30% to 90% of patients after mild head injury. Most headaches are of the tension type, although migraines can increase in frequency or occur acutely or chronically de novo. The treatments are the same as for the primary headaches. Approximately 20% of patients have persistent post-traumatic headaches for more than 1 year, which may not resolve despite the settlement of any pending litigation.

Global impact of Danish headache research

Over the past 40 years, Denmark has established a world reputation for the comprehensive nature and excellence of its headache research. Advances have been made in epidemiology, genetics, pathophysiology and treatment across the whole spectrum of headache entities. Moreover, the IHS classification of headache, the guidelines for clinical trials and text books on the basic mechanisms and management of headaches were initiated from Denmark. These achievements are a tribute to all those who have participated and to the continuing leadership of Jes Olesen.

Headaches and exercise

Exercise-related headache is one of the most common medical problems affecting the modern-day athlete. Despite the high prevalence of headache in community populations, the epidemiology of sports-related headache is unclear. In certain collision sports, up to 50% of athletes report regular headaches as a consequence of their athletic participation. The classification of the different types of sport-related headache by the International Headache Society (IHS) and in previously published articles does not adequately encompass the clinical problem faced by team physicians. Confusion exists where terms such as 'effort headache' and 'exertional headache' may be used to describe similar entities. In this review, the specific headache entities discussed include benign exertional headache, effort headache, acute post-traumatic headache and cervicogenic headache. For the sports physician, an understanding of the variety of specific headache syndromes that occur with particular sports is necessary for everyday clinical practice. This article reviews the common exercise-related headache syndromes and attempts to provide a framework for their overall management. Team physicians also need to be cognisant that many of the standard preparations used to treat headaches may be banned drugs under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules.