Craniovascular Studies in Headache

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Abstract
A series of 188 patients with migraine and 103 patients with tension (muscle contraction) headache and 9 controls (patients without chronic headache) were studied over a 2-year-period by the following techniques: (1) Glycerine pellotte technique[long dash]which measured changes occurring in the branches of the external carotid artery, and (2) photoelectric cell technique[long dash]which measured the volume changes in the area of the face supplied by the external maxillary artery. The records indicate that it is possible to measure only qualitative changes which occurred in the pulse wave of patients with headache; quantitative changes can not be measured. The following observations relative to head pain are made: (1) During an attack of migraine, dihydroergotamine (vasoconstrictor) succeeded in diminishing the pulse volume and alleviating the headache in a significant number of patients. (2) The effects of a vasodilator drug on the external carotid circulation in cases of tension headache (muscle contraction headache) suggested that a vascular insufficiency may play a part in the mechanism of pain in patients suffering with this type of headache. (3) Effects of drugs were felt by the patients before associated changes could be objectively recorded.

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