Table 1 Demographic and clinical features of eight patients with linear headache (LH)
From: Linear headache: clinical characteristics of eight new cases
| Â | Patient no. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
Sex | Female | Female | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Female |
Age (years) | 74 | 54 | 40 | 46 | 46 | 37 | 64 | 32 |
Age at onset (years) | 73 | 34 | 20 | 45 | 46 | 35 | 64 | 32 |
Other headaches | None | None | None | None | None | None | Migraine | None |
LH paroxysms | ||||||||
Side of LH | Left | Right | Right and left shift | Right | Left | Left | Left | Left |
Headache area | Occipital–forehead | Occipital–nasion | Occipital–nasion | Occipital–forehead | Occipitocervical–nasion | Occipitocervical–nasion | Occipitocervical–forehead | Occipital–nasion |
Durationb | 1 h | 1 day | 1–2 days | Persistent and episodic worsening (1–3 h) | Persistent and episodic worsening (2–3 h) | 1 h | 2–3 h | Half day |
Character | Pressure-like and pulsating | Distending and aching pain | Indescribable | Distending | Pulsating | Pulsating | Pulsating | Distending |
Intensitya | 6–7 | 7–8 | 6–7 | 7–8 | 6–7 | 7–9 | 7–8 | 7–8 |
Acompaniments | Nause | None | Awareness of defecation | Ipsilateral temporal mild pain | Diziness and bilateral temporal mild pain | Left temporal mild pain | None | Diziness and nause |
Frequency | 1/2–3 days | 2–3/month to 1/2–3 months | 1–2/month | 1/dayc | 1/dayc | 1–2/month to 1/day | 1/day | 1/day |
Triggering factors | − | − | Menstruation | − | − | Noise and bright light | Noise, resting after physical activity | Fatigue |
Interictal symptoms | None | None | None | − | − | None | None | None |
Temporal pattern | Chronic | Chronic | Chronic | Chronic | − | With remission | − | − |
Length of symptomatic period | 1Â year | 20Â years | 20Â years | 6Â months | 1Â month | 2.5Â years | 1Â month | Half month |
Therapy | ||||||||
Medicine | Flunarizine and Venlafaxine | Flunarizine and Venlafaxine | Sodium valproate and flunarizine | Sodium valproate and flunarizine; Venlafaxine and pregabalin | Sodium valproate | Flunarizine | Flunarizine | Flunarizine |
Response | Recurrence prevented | Frequency and intensity reduced | Non-menstral pain prevented and menstral pain unchanged | LH pain prevented and the Occipitocervical point pain unchanged | Recurrence prevented | Recurrence prevented | Frequency and intensity reduced | Recurrence prevented |