Cerebral blood flow changes in patients with probable medication-overuse headache

Abstract

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a non-invasive method for measuring blood flow velocity (BFV), and a marker of vessel diameter. In this study, intracranial BFV was investigated, by means of TCD, in patients suffering from probable medication-overuse headache (PMOH). Twenty-three female patients with probable ergotamine-overuse headache (PEOH), 23 female patients with probable analgesic-overuse headache (PAOH), and 15 healthy female controls participated in the study. The mean BFVs of the bilateral middle and anterior cerebral arteries (MCA and ACA) and basilar artery (BA) were measured by TCD.