Primary Headaches and Their Most Important Imagistic Features in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Background. Primary headaches are comprised of three big categories: migraines (with or without aura), the third most common and the 6th most disabling disease worldwide, tension-headaches, and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, each with different, complex, and not completely understood pathophysiological, clinical, and neuroimagistic characteristics. Structures like the brain stem, hippocampus, or hypothalamus have been depicted as being the main triggers of these types of headaches, which have a significant impact on the quality of life. Methods. We performed a broad literature review on primary headaches from January 2016 to June 2023, analyzing the latest scientific updates and emphasizing the pathophysiological and neuroimagistic characteristics. Results. We provide a concise review of the main neuroimaging studies that help in differential diagnosis between several types of primary headaches. Conclusions. It is difficult to approach the pathophysiology of these three primary headache categories. Keeping in mind that neuroimagistic methods are rapidly developing (especially in the MRI sphere), the most important endpoint of future studies will be to establish a reliable distinction system for all these types of cephalalgias, thus updating the protocols and guidelines. Currently, imaging studies are indicated only in certain circumstances.