Post-traumatic cluster headache: from the periphery to the central nervous system?

A correlation between head trauma and cluster headache is believed to exist. We report a case of post-traumatic episodic cluster headache that fulfills the criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition. The distinctive features of this case are: a close temporal relation between head trauma and headache onset; pain ipsilateral to the side of trauma; mild severity of trauma; episodic course well-responsive to low doses of verapamil. Given the close temporal relation between the 2 events, multiple hypotheses can be advanced about a possible role of head trauma in the pathogenesis of cluster headache.