Cluster headache: MRI studies of the cavernous sinus and the base of the brain

Fourteen patients with cluster headache (13 with the episodic and 1 with the chronic form; 11 males and 3 females) were studied. One patient was in remission at the time of investigation; no one was studied during an ongoing attack. The cavernous sinus and its immediate surroundings were studied at 0.5 Tesla (n = 7) and 1.5 Tesla (n = 7). No definite pathological changes were found in the area of particular interest. Since the evidence implicating the cavernous sinus in cluster headache pathogenesis is rather strong, the search for abnormalities in this area should continue.