Posted by Dave H (199.111.146.227) on April 29, 2000 at 16:10:23:
Found this while looking for info online, thought it might be of interest to you all
~Dave
New York - Scientists say they've found an
anatomical abnormality in the brains of people with a condition called cluster
headaches. Follow-up studies might explain how the disorder develops.
Fewer than one in 100 people get cluster headaches, so named because attacks
tend to cluster over a period of several weeks. During these periods, people
typically get one to four severe headaches a day, often at the same times each
day. Then the headaches disappear for months or years. Medications can block
the pain.
The new study is the first to link the condition to a structural abnormality in the
brain, say the researchers from the National Hospital for Neurology and
Neurosurgery in London. They report their findings in the July issue of the journal
Nature Medicine.
Brain scans of 25 patients found that, on average, they showed a very slight
enlargement of a brain feature called the hypothalamus. That fits with prior studies
that indicated the hypothalamus might be involved in cluster headaches.
Headaches experts cautioned it's not clear whether the abnormality promotes
cluster headaches or is just a result of the condition.