Can COVID-19 vaccines relieve severe tension-type headache and migraine?

Jordi González-Menacho; Mónica Villas-Roca; Helena Castañé; Jorge Joven; Jordi Camps; Simona Iftimie

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2022.110812

Can COVID-19 vaccines relieve severe tension-type headache and migraine?

Med Hypotheses. 2022 Apr:161:110812. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2022.110812. Epub 2022 Feb 22.

Authors

Jordi González-Menacho¹, Mónica Villas-Roca¹, Helena Castañé², Jorge Joven², Jordi Camps², Simona Iftimie³

Affiliations

¹ Neurology Unit, Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
² Unitat de Recerca Biomèdica, Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain.

Abstract

Chronic headache is a frequent disorder that can cause a significant deterioration in the quality of life of the affected person. The COVID-19 pandemic is compelling all countries to develop a complete vaccination protocol for the entire population. In this article, we present 8 clinical cases of patients suffering chronic headache which resolved completely or partially after vaccination. Five patients had migraine, 2 had a post-viral headache typical of COVID-19, and one had a headache induced by sexual activity. Resolution was complete in 3 cases, almost complete in 2 others, and a great improvement was observed in the other 3. We hypothesize that the administration of vaccines for COVID-19 can produce an improvement or the disappearance of symptoms in our patients by inhibiting synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Keywords: COVID-19; Headache; Migraine; Vaccines.