Observational studyHeadache2023
Thalamic subfield iron accumulation after acute mild traumatic brain injury as a marker of future post-traumatic headache intensity.
Observational study in Headache, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Post-Traumatic Headache: A Systematic Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- Assessment and Management of Post-traumatic Headache.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026Review
- Prevalence of Headache Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Review
- Symptom Persistence Relates to Volume and Asymmetry of the Limbic System after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Connectivity of the insular subdivisions differentiates posttraumatic headache-associated from nonheadache-associated mild traumatic brain injury: an arterial spin labelling study.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Article
- The mechanism of ferroptosis in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo explore alterations in thalamic subfield volume and iron accumulation in individuals with post-traumatic headache (PTH) relative to healthy controls.
backgroundThe thalamus plays a pivotal role in the pathomechanism of pain and headache, yet the role of the thalamus in PTH attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) remains unclear.
methodsA total of 107 participants underwent multimodal T1-weighted and T2* brain magnetic resonance imaging. Using a clinic-based observational study, thalamic subfield volume and thalamic iron accumulation were explored in 52 individuals with acute PTH (mean age = 41.3; standard deviation [SD] = 13.5), imaged on average 24 days post mTBI, and compared to 55 healthy controls (mean age = 38.3; SD = 11.7) without history of mTBI or migraine. Symptoms of mTBI and headache characteristics were assessed at baseline (0-59 days post mTBI) (n = 52) and 3 months later (n = 46) using the Symptom Evaluation of the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-5) and a detailed headache history questionnaire.
resultsRelative to controls, individuals with acute PTH had significantly less volume in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) (mean volume: PTH = 254.1, SD = 43.4 vs. controls = 278.2, SD = 39.8; p = 0.003) as well as more iron deposition in the left LGN (PTH: T2* signal = 38.6, SD = 6.5 vs. controls: T2* signal = 45.3, SD = 2.3; p = 0.048). Correlations in individuals with PTH revealed a positive relationship between left LGN T2* iron deposition and SCAT-5 symptom severity score at baseline (r = -0.29, p = 0.019) and maximum headache intensity at the 3-month follow-up (r = -0.47, p = 0.002).
conclusionRelative to healthy controls, individuals with acute PTH had less volume and higher iron deposition in the left LGN. Higher iron deposition in the left LGN might reflect mTBI severity and poor headache recovery.
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Registered trials
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