ABSTRACT
One of the biggest challenges in the treatment of headache is diagnosis. Patients with organic causes of headache are approximately one half of one percent, obviously a relatively small number. The problem is that these patients have the most to lose if the clinicians do not diagnose the etiology of their headache correctly. The most typical organic causes of headache include: cerebrovascular dilatation, cerebral hypoxia, hypercapnea syndromes, traction of intracranial structures, endocrine abnormalities, hypocalcemia, cerebral hypoglycemia, collagen vascular disease, and so on. The headache secondary to noncephalic infections typically occurs with fever. Pyrogens can cause increases in arachidonic acid metabolites which include prostaglandins, prostacyclin, and thromboxane. Endocrine disorders which can cause headache, typically secondary to vasodilation, include hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, and hyperthyroidism. Collagen vascular diseases may also be associated with headache. One of the most frequent associations is seen in patients with systemic lupus erytlunatosis.
