[Clinical and electroneurophysiological characteristics of polysynaptic reflex excitability in headache of tension]

To study polysynaptic reflex excitability in different clinical forms of headache of tension, 187 patients with episodic (135) and chronic (52) forms of the disease were examined. The Visual-Analogue Scale, clinical neurological examination, neuropsychological testing, interference EMC of scalp and cervical muscles, electroneurophysiological study of polysynaptic blinking reflex were used. The increase of polysynaptic reflex excitability, the level of which was correlated with disease severity, was found in patients. This finding characterizes the insufficiency of central inhibition and inefficacy of antinociceptive control. Electroneurophysiological examination of polysynaptic reflexes may be applied as a diagnostic test for assessing severity and prognosis of the course of pathological process in headache of tension.