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Assymetry of temporal artery diameters during spontaneous attacks of cluster headache
Thue H Nielsen1, Peer Tfelt-Hansen, Helle K Iversen
1Danish Headache Centre, Department Neurology, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
Background:
Cluster headache is characterized by strictly unilateral head pain associated with symptoms of cranial autonomic features. Transcranial Doppler studies showed in most studies a bilateral decreased blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery.
Objective:
To investigate whether there is a bilateral or unilateral extracranial vasodilation during spontaneous cluster headache attacks.
Design And Methods:
In 9 cluster headache patients, we investigated the luminal diameter of the superficial temporal artery with ultrasound on the headache and headache-free side during and outside cluster headache attacks.
Results:
During cluster headache attacks, the diameter of the superficial temporal artery on the painful side was greater, 1.48 mm, than the diameter on the nonheadache site, 1.14 mm (P < .01). Outside attacks, median diameters on the 2 sides were quite comparable, 1.34 vs 1.31 mm (P = .67).
Conclusions:
What was observed is most likely a general pain-induced arterial vasoconstriction (confer the decrease in diameter on the pain-free side) with an unchanged superficial temporal artery on the pain side because of some vasodilator influence.
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