[Headaches in the elderly].

ACCORDING TO AGE: It is generally thought that the prevalence of headaches decreases with ageing. However recent studies, with stricter epidemiology and methodology, clearly indicate that this decreases is less obvious than that perceived. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY HEADACHES: In elderly patients, primary headaches and notably migraine (often with altered presentation) are less frequent, even though new authentic cases may appear. However the other types of headache are clearly present. In particular, the incidence and prevalence of secondary headaches slightly increases and they represent up to 30% of all the headaches observed, compared with less than 10% in young or adult patients. The causes of such symptomatic headaches are multiple and it is important to be able to identify them since an aetiological treatment is often possible. REGARDING TREATMENT: The symptomatic treatment of headaches in the elderly follows the same principles as that of younger patients. However, the side effects and drug interactions related to pharmacological treatments can be disastrous in fragilised patients. It is therefore important to emphasize the interest of physical methods of analgesia, particularly adapted to the elderly. Some of these methods have demonstrated their efficacy and are recommended by international consensuses.