OBJECTIVE: Hypnic headache (HH) is a rare primary headache disorder characterized by strictly nocturnal headache attacks that mostly occur at the same time at night. The pathophysiology of this disease is poorly understood, but hypothalamic involvement was suspected as the hypothalamus represents the cerebral management center of sleep regulation and pain control. METHODS: Fourteen patients with HH and 14 age-matched and gender-matched healthy controls were investigated using magnetic resonance imaging-based voxel-based morphometry. RESULTS: We detected gray matter volume decrease in the posterior hypothalamus of HH patients. Additional gray matter decrease was observed in brain areas known to be associated with cerebral pain processing, including the cingulate cortex, operculum, and frontal lobe, as well as in the temporal lobe. INTERPRETATION: Our data confirm the hypothesized involvement of the posterior hypothalamus in the pathophysiology of HH and emphasize the importance of this structure for sleep regulation and pain control.
OBJECTIVE:Hypnic headache (HH) is a rare primary headache disorder characterized by strictly nocturnal headache attacks that mostly occur at the same time at night. The pathophysiology of this disease is poorly understood, but hypothalamic involvement was suspected as the hypothalamus represents the cerebral management center of sleep regulation and pain control. METHODS: Fourteen patients with HH and 14 age-matched and gender-matched healthy controls were investigated using magnetic resonance imaging-based voxel-based morphometry. RESULTS: We detected gray matter volume decrease in the posterior hypothalamus of HHpatients. Additional gray matter decrease was observed in brain areas known to be associated with cerebral pain processing, including the cingulate cortex, operculum, and frontal lobe, as well as in the temporal lobe. INTERPRETATION: Our data confirm the hypothesized involvement of the posterior hypothalamus in the pathophysiology of HH and emphasize the importance of this structure for sleep regulation and pain control.
Authors: John R Keltner; Colm G Connolly; Florin Vaida; Mark Jenkinson; Christine Fennema-Notestine; Sarah Archibald; Cherine Akkari; Alexandra Schlein; Jisu Lee; Dongzhe Wang; Sung Kim; Han Li; Austin Rennels; David J Miller; George Kesidis; Donald R Franklin; Chelsea Sanders; Stephanie Corkran; Igor Grant; Gregory G Brown; J Hampton Atkinson; Ronald J Ellis Journal: Pain Med Date: 2017-03-01 Impact factor: 3.750
Authors: Nicoletta Cera; Stefano Delli Pizzi; Ezio Domenico Di Pierro; Francesco Gambi; Armando Tartaro; Carlo Vicentini; Giuseppe Paradiso Galatioto; Gian Luca Romani; Antonio Ferretti Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-06-18 Impact factor: 3.240