Blood vessels headache

Head | Neurology | Blood vessels headache (Disease)


Description

Abnormalities in the blood vessels operating on nerves that affect regions in the face can cause a migraine, known as a cluster headache.

Causes and Risk factors

A major role in cluster headaches is played by the abnormalities in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that produces important hormones. Some high-technology studies have shown that a specific area in the hypothalamus is asymmetrical in these patients and is activated during a cluster headache attack.

The hypothalamus is involved in the regulation of many important chemicals and nerve pathways, including: nerve clusters that regulate the bodys biologic, circadian rhythms; serotonin and norepinephrine; cortisol, the stress hormones; melatonin, a hormone related to the bodys response to light and dark; beta-endorphins, a substance that modulate pain.

Cluster headaches can cause inflammation of nerves behind the eye and dilation of blood vessels. Inflammation of nearby nerves may give rise to the distinctive stabbing, throbbing pain usually felt in one eye. The trigeminal nerves branch off the brainstem behind the eyes and send impulses throughout the cranium and face. What causes these events and how they relate to cluster headaches are still unclear.

Because blood vessel dilation appears to follow, not precede, the pain, some action originating in the brain is likely to be part of the primary process.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Migraine headaches are usually diagnosed based on the symptoms described by the patient. Treatment includes therapies that may or may not involve medications. Acupuncture, relaxation techniques, sleeping, avoiding triggering factors such as smoking, specific foods rich in tyramine sharp cheeses or those containing sulphites or nitrates. ...