ABSTRACT
Although migraine and tension-type headaches are the most common headache disorders encountered in clinical practice, recognition of other less common primary headache syndromes is important, because the sufferers tend to be desperate, often misdiagnosed and mismanaged. Although included under the rubric of other primary headaches, some of the syndromes listed within this classification may in fact have secondary etiologies. As noted in the criteria for these disorders in the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-2) (1), the diagnosis of the primary headache can only be given after secondary causes have been excluded. Furthermore, the proper treatment of these disorders is predicated upon establishing the correct diagnosis; some of the conditions described in this chapter respond dramatically to therapy with indomethacin but not to agents typically prescribed for the other more common primary headaches. This chapter reviews the clinical features and treatment options for several of these rarer disorders.
