Headache Secondary to Deep Brain Implantation

Authors: Veloso, Felix¹; Kumar, Krishna²; Toth, Cory³

Source: Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, Volume 38, Number 7, July 1998 , pp. 507-515(9)

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Abstract:

This article examines the headaches that can develop with deep brain stimulation. We identified 15 (23.4%) of 64 patients who developed chronic headaches following implantation of deep brain stimulation electrodes for relief of chronic pain syndromes. Electrodes were implanted in the periaqueductal gray, sensory thalamus, and internal capsule. None of these 15 patients reported similar headaches prior to the implantation. Although 5 patients were intermittent headache sufferers prior to implantation, they reported post-implantation headaches to be completely different in nature. Our experience suggests that headache syndromes may arise due to disturbance of serotonergic neurotransmission within deep brain structures.

Keywords: deep brain stimulation; periaqueductal gray; headache

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-4610.1998.3807507.x

Affiliations: 1: From the Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, The Plains Health Center, University of Saskatchewan, Regina (Dr. Veloso) and 2: Department of Surgery, Section of Neurosurgery (Dr. Kumar), The Plains Health Center, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, and the 3: Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, Royal University Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon (Dr. Toth).

Publication date: 1998-07-01