Prevalence and features of headache in Parkinson’s disease: the role of dopamine

• Published in: Neurological sciences 2024-12, Vol.45 (12), p.5749-5756
• Main Authors: Giglio, Augusta, Russo, Cinzia Valeria, Riccio, Gabriele, Braca, Simone, Cretella, Gennaro, Stornaiuolo, Antonio, Baratto, Luigi, Marano, Enrico, De Michele, Giuseppe, De Rosa, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Depression - epidemiology; Dopamine; Dopamine - metabolism; Dopamine receptors; Female; Headache; Headache - epidemiology; Headaches; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Migraine; Movement disorders; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosurgery; Original Article; Parkinson Disease - complications; Parkinson Disease - epidemiology; Parkinson's disease; Prevalence; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Remission; Remission (Medicine); Substantia nigra; Tremor; Vascular system
• ISSN: 1590-1874; 1590-3478; 1590-3478
• DOI: 10.1007/s10072-024-07818-9

Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, but dopamine also plays a role in the pathophysiology of migraine. Objective The aim of this study is to assess lifetime and previous year prevalence rates of headache in PD patients compared with controls. Patients and methods We enrolled 101 patients (57 M and 44 W) and 101 controls (62 M and 39 W), comparable for age and gender, who underwent a semi-structured questionnaire to assess the occurrence and the features of headache, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results We did not find any significant differences in the overall prevalence of lifetime and last 12-month headache between the two groups, as well as lifetime and last year tension-type headache (TTH) and migraine. Patients, especially those suffering from migraine and treated with dopamine agonists (DA), more frequently showed headache remission after the onset of motor symptoms compared to the age-related remission observed in controls ( p  = 0.001). Patients affected by headache were less frequently treated with DA in comparison with those without ( p  = 0.051). Depression of mood was more severe among PD patients with migraine than with TTH ( p  = 0.021). PD patients with headache exhibiting the akinetic-rigid subtype more frequently reported motor fluctuations than those presenting with tremor-dominant disease ( p  = 0.040). Conclusions The prevalence of headache in PD follows that described in the general population, but dopaminergic pathway degeneration, loss of dopamine activation on the trigeminal-vascular system, and DA treatment might favor migraine improvement and remission in PD patients.