Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia (TAC) refers to a group of primary headaches that occurs with pain on one side of the head in the trigeminal nerve area and symptoms in autonomic systems on the same side, such as eye watering and redness or drooping eyelids.
Types
TACs include
- Cluster headache
- Paroxysmal hemicrania (chronic or episodic)
- Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT)
- Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with cranial autonomic symptoms (SUNA)
- Long-lasting autonomic symptoms with hemicrania (LASH)
TACs can be differentiated by the length and frequency of recurrence of the headaches.3
Treatment
Treatment for TACs varies depending on the exact type, but can include medication such as indomethacin (in the case of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania) or acute and prophylactic therapy (in the case of cluster headache).4
References
Diener, Hans Christoph; Tassorelli, Cristina; Dodick, David W. (1 March 2023). "Management of Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias Including Chronic Cluster: A Review". JAMA Neurology. 80 (3): 308–319. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.4804. ISSN 2168-6149. PMID 36648786. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2800166 ↩
Swanson, Jerry W.; Bartleson, J. D. (2022). "20. Cranial and facial pain". In Jankovic, Joseph; Mazziotta, John C.; Pomeroy, Scott L. (eds.). Bradley and Daroff's Neurology in Clinical Practice. Vol. I. Principles of diagnosis (8th ed.). Edinburgh: Elsevier. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-323-64261-3. 978-0-323-64261-3 ↩
Goadsby, P J (2005). "Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias: Fancy term or constructive change to the IHS classification?". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 76 (3): 301–5. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.036012. PMC 1739543. PMID 15716514. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1739543 ↩
Graff-Radford, Steven. "Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias" (PDF). Archived from the original (slides) on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170116143908/https://americanheadachesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Trigeminal_Autonomic_Cephalalgias.pdf ↩