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Causes Of Cluster Headache
By peace | July 9, 2006
Cluster headaches affect 1% of the population overall, and strike men four times more often than women. Doctors don’t believe that cluster headaches, which are potentially the most painful headaches, are inherited. They may, however, be caused by a serotonin imbalance and/or by a defect in the body’s biological clock.
Cluster headaches do not appear to be related to other illnesses or to diseases of the brain. They do not seem to run in families.
Some of the causes of cluster headaches may include:
- some medications (such as nitroglycerin)
- heavy smoking
- an interruption in your normal sleep pattern
- problems with the hypothalamus, which controls your body’s “biological clock”
Cluster headache triggers
Unlike migraine and tension-type headache, cluster headache generally isn’t associated with triggers such as foods, hormonal changes or stress. But some people with cluster headache are heavy drinkers and cigarette smokers. Once a cluster period begins, consumption of alcohol can trigger a splitting headache within minutes. All it takes is one drink. For this reason, many people with cluster headache stay completely away from alcohol for the duration of a cluster period. Other possible triggers include the use of medications such as nitroglycerin, a drug used to treat heart disease.
The beginning of a cluster period often follows occasions when normal sleep patterns are disrupted, such as during a vacation or when starting a new job or work shift. Some people with cluster headache also have sleep apnea, a condition in which the walls of a person’s throat collapse momentarily, obstructing the sleeper’s breathing repeatedly during the night.
Increased sensitivity of nerve pathways
The intense pain of a cluster headache is centered behind or around the eye, an area that’s served by the trigeminal nerve, a major pathway for pain. Stimulation of this nerve results in abnormal reactions of the arteries that supply blood to the head. These blood vessels dilate and become painful.
Some symptoms of cluster headache, such as teary eye, stuffy or runny nose and droopy eyelid, involve the autonomic nervous system. The nerves that are part of this system form a pathway at the base of the brain. When the trigeminal nerve is activated, causing eye pain, autonomic nerves are also activated in what is called the trigeminal-autonomic reflex. Researchers believe that a still unidentified process involving inflammation or abnormal blood vessel activity in this region may also be involved in the headache.
Abnormal function of the hypothalamus
Cluster attacks typically occur with clock-like regularity during a 24-hour day. The cycle of cluster periods often follow the seasons of the year. These patterns suggest that the body’s biological clock is involved. In humans, the biological clock is located in the hypothalamus, which lies deep in the center of the brain. Among the many functions of the hypothalamus is control of the sleep-wake cycle and other internal rhythms.
Abnormalities of the hypothalamus may explain the timing and cyclical nature of cluster headache. Studies have detected increased activity in the hypothalamus during the course of a cluster headache. This activity isn’t seen in people with other headaches such as migraine.
Studies also indicate that people have abnormal levels of certain hormones, including melatonin and testosterone, during cluster periods. These hormonal changes are believed to be due to a problem with the hypothalamus. Other studies reveal that participants with cluster headache have a larger hypothalamus, compared with that of participants who don’t have this headache. But it remains unknown what causes these abnormalities in the first place.
Topics: All Posts, Diseases, Man's health, Woman's Health |
