• N Putzki, A Pfriem, V Limmroth, O Yaldizli, B Tettenborn, H C Diener, and Z Katsarava.
• Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany. norman.putzki@uni-due.de
• Eur. J. Neurol. 2009 Feb 1;16(2):262-7.

BackgroundPrevalence rates of headache in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients varied widely in recent studies. This study aimed to investigate the 1 year prevalence of headache in MS compared with the general population.MethodsPopulation-based case-control study in Germany.ResultsWe included 491 patients with definite MS (68% female, mean age 45.3 years, 63.7% relapsing remitting MS, mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 3.2, 106 treated with interferon-beta, 53 with glatiramer acetate, 271 untreated) and 447 age and gender matched controls. Headache was diagnosed with a validated questionnaire according to the International Headache Society Criteria. Headache prevalence was 56.2% (tension type headache 37.2%, migraine 24.6%). Headache prevalence rates did not differ from controls. Headache was not associated with disability or treatment. Trigeminal neuralgia was found in 6.3% of MS cases.ConclusionResults suggest that headache in MS patients reflects comorbidity in most conditions.

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