Review Article

Year : 2021 | Volume : 5 | Issue : 1 | Page : 1 - 8

Human tissue studies in primary headache disorders: A scoping review

Mohammed A. Amer, Diana Almader‐Douglas1 , Vanessa Dimayuga Smith2, Jonathan Helmsley Smith3

Medical Student, School of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, 1 Medical librarian, Mayo Clinic Arizona, 2 Neuropathologist, Independent Contractor, Arizona, 3 Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona, United States,

Address for correspondence:

Dr. Jonathan Helmsley Smith, Mayo Clinic, 13400 E Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85259, United States.

E‐mail: smith.jonathan@mayo.edu

Abstract

Background:

Despite the identification of structures with putative pathophysiological significance in primary headache disorders (e.g., posterior hypothalamus in cluster headache) there appears to be a paucity of human tissue studies examining the neuropathology of these regions.

Objective:

To synthesize the extent and knowledge pertaining to direct human tissue analysis in primary headache disorders.

Methods:

Scoping literature review.

Results:

Of 2718 located articles, 15 were eligible for inclusion. These studies evaluated either migraine (9,60%) or cluster headache (6, 40%). Approximately 75% were published before or during the era of the first edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. The most common study design was case-control (8, 53.3%), and the most commonly examined tissues equally included skin (3, 20%), muscle (3,20%), and brain (3, 20%). Thematically, these manuscripts generally evaluated peripheral nervous and systemic pathology, as well as more targeted pathophysiological aspects, including mitochondrial and mast cell dysfunction.

Conclusions:

While interest in this type of study design appears to be waning, histopathological evaluation of human tissue provides unparalleled opportunity to reveal novel pathophysiological insight. Considerations for future study design and reporting of work involving human tissue is suggested based on our review.

Keywords: Autopsy, biopsy, cluster, human tissue, migraine, neuropathology, primary headache

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

How to cite this article:

Amer MA, Almader-Douglas D, Smith VD, Smith JH. Human tissue studies in primary headache disorders: A scoping review. Int J Clinicopathol Correl 2021;5:1-8.