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Related Experiment Videos

Tension-type headache.

Ninan T Mathew1

  • 1Houston Headache Clinic, 1213 Hermann Drive, Suite 350, Houston, TX 77004, USA. ntmathew@houstonheadacheclinic.com

Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports
|March 9, 2006
PubMed
Summary
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Chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) involves structural brain abnormalities in pain processing areas. This finding may lead to new treatments beyond current options like amitriptyline.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pain Medicine

Background:

  • Tension-type headache is the most common primary headache disorder.
  • Chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) presents with higher frequency, treatment resistance, medication overuse, and reduced quality of life compared to episodic forms.
  • Emerging concepts suggest central nociceptive pathway sensitization, possibly involving nitric oxide and NMDA receptors, plays a role in CTTH pathophysiology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate structural brain abnormalities in patients with chronic tension-type headache using neuroimaging techniques.
  • To compare brain structure in CTTH patients with healthy controls and patients with medication overuse headache.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry were employed.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Structural differences in gray matter volume were analyzed in specific brain regions.

    • Main Results:

    • First-time identification of structural abnormalities in CTTH patients.
    • Decreased gray matter was observed in pain processing areas including the pons, anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex, temporal lobe, orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampus, and cerebellum.
    • These changes were noted in CTTH patients compared to both control subjects and patients with medication overuse headache.

    Conclusions:

    • Structural brain alterations in pain-processing regions are associated with chronic tension-type headache.
    • These findings provide novel insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of CTTH.
    • Future therapeutic strategies may target the identified mechanisms of central sensitization.