Cephalgia Alopecia
- PDF / 236,659 Bytes
- 4 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 39 Downloads / 168 Views
UNCOMMON AND/OR UNUSUAL HEADACHES AND SYNDROMES (J AILANI, SECTION EDITOR)
Cephalgia Alopecia Kate O. Bedrin 1
&
Carrie Dougherty 1
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose of Review In this review, we examine reported cases of cephalgia alopecia including the initial case report from 2006. The goal is to review the clinical description, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of cephalgia alopecia. Recent Findings The pathophysiology of the headache and hair loss in cephalgia alopecia is believed to be related to neuroregulation of skin and nerve. It is hypothesized that the headache causes recurrent activation of trigeminal and upper cervical branches that innervate the hair cells. The repetitive activation of C fibers results in depletion of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which leads to loss of hair growth promotion and disruption of immune system regulation. A case report suggests that cephalgia alopecia and nummular headache with trophic changes may represent a spectrum of disease involving head pain and cutaneous changes. Summary Cephalgia alopecia is a rare headache disorder described as recurrent burning, stabbing head, and neck pain that is followed by hair loss in the corresponding region of the scalp. The mainstay treatment for both pain and hair loss is OnabotulinumtoxinA (onabotA). A patient’s clinical history and response to onabotA treatment is used to make the diagnosis. Future research is needed to examine the hypothesized disease continuum of head pain and cutaneous changes. It will also be beneficial to assess if the grid-like onabotA technique used in nummular headache is effective in cephalgia alopecia. In addition, further studies are needed to assess the proposed pathophysiology. Keywords Cephalgia alopecia . Headache . Nummular headache . Alopecia areata
Introduction Cephalgia alopecia is described as recurrent episodes of burning and stabbing head pain. The pain is followed by hair loss in the same location as the head pain. The hair loss is correlated to the frequency of head pain such that the painful region of the scalp may eventually be devoid of hair. Cephalgia alopecia was first reported in 2006 in a case report from Cutrer and Pittelokow [1]. Since then minimal literature exists on the
topic likely due to both its low prevalence and lack of awareness of this headache syndrome.
Material and Methods PubMed and Ovid databases were searched using the terms “cephalgia alopecia,” “cephalalgia alopecia,” and “headache alopecia.” These initial results’ references were also used if containing information pertaining to our topic.
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Uncommon and/or Unusual Headaches and Syndromes * Carrie Dougherty [email protected] Kate O. Bedrin [email protected] 1
Department of Neurology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Road NW, 7-PHC, Washington, DC 20007, USA
Clinical Features Cephalgia alopecia presents with a burn
Data Loading...
