Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias
A set of disorders characterised by Severe, unilateral headache disorders associated with cranial autonomic features.
Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias: 8M Patients World Wide
Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias (TACs) are a diverse set of indications which include Cluster headaches, Paroxysmal hemicrania, Hemicrania continua, SUNCT and SUNA.
Most of them are first treated with indomethacin which is associated with side effects and is not always effective for all patients. Patients that do not respond to indomethacin are classified and indomethacin resistant and represent and defined population. Whilst the pathophysiological background of these disorders is not fully known they seem to have similar underlying causes as they often respond to the same drugs.
Cluster Headaches, the most common form of TAC, have a prevalence rate estimated to range from about 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,000 individuals in the general population. This would suggest that potentially millions of people worldwide could be affected, though the exact number is challenging to pinpoint due to underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis.
Other forms of TACs, such as Paroxysmal Hemicrania, Hemicrania Continua, SUNCT (Short-lasting Unilateral Neuralgiform headache attacks with Conjunctival injection and Tearing) and SUNA (Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache with autonomic symptoms) are even less common than cluster headaches, making them rare and less studied.
