Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37667192›Full record

ReviewThe journal of headache and pain2023

Current treatment options for cluster headache: limitations and the unmet need for better and specific treatments-a consensus article.

Nunu Laura Timotheussen Lund, Anja Sofie Petersen, Rolf Fronczek, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Andrea Carmine Belin, Tore Meisingset, Erling Tronvik, Anna Steinberg, Charly Gaul, Rigmor Højland Jensen

Open access · goldAbstract readReviewConsensus Statement
In one paragraph

Review in The journal of headache and pain, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
8.5field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Efficacy and safety of CGRP monoclonal antibodies for cluster headache: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
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  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Observational
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Cluster Headache: A Clinical Practice Guideline.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025
    Review
  13. Hallmarks of primary headache: part 3 - cluster headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2025
    Review
  14. Psychedelics and Headache Disorders: an Update.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2025
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Nunu Laura Timotheussen LundDanish Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, Valdemar Hansens Vej 5, 2600, Glostrup, Denmark. Nunu.Lund@regionh.dk.
Anja Sofie PetersenDanish Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, Valdemar Hansens Vej 5, 2600, Glostrup, Denmark.
Rolf FronczekDepartment of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Jacob Tfelt-HansenDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Andrea Carmine BelinCentre for Cluster Headache, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tore MeisingsetNorwegian Advisory Unit On Headaches, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
Erling TronvikNorwegian Advisory Unit On Headaches, St. Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
Anna SteinbergDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Charly GaulCharly Gaul, Headache Center, Frankfurt, Germany.
Rigmor Højland JensenDanish Headache Center, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, Valdemar Hansens Vej 5, 2600, Glostrup, Denmark.
Rigshospitalet · DKKarolinska Institutet · SESt Olav's University Hospital · NOCopenhagen University Hospital · DKLeiden University Medical Center · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTreatment for cluster headache is currently based on a trial-and-error approach. The available preventive treatment is unspecific and based on few and small studies not adhering to modern standards. Therefore, the authors collaborated to discuss acute and preventive treatment in cluster headache, addressing the unmet need of safe and tolerable preventive medication from the perspectives of people with cluster headache and society, headache specialist and cardiologist.

findingsThe impact of cluster headache on personal life is substantial. Mean annual direct and indirect costs of cluster headache are more than 11,000 Euros per patient. For acute treatment, the main problems are treatment response, availability, costs and, for triptans, contraindications and the maximum use allowed. Intermediate treatment with steroids and greater occipital nerve blocks are effective but cannot be used continuously. Preventive treatment is sparsely studied and overall limited by relatively low efficacy and side effects. Neurostimulation is a relevant option for treatment-refractory chronic patients. From a cardiologist's perspective use of verapamil and triptans may be worrisome and regular follow-up is essential when using verapamil and lithium.

conclusionWe find that there is a great and unmet need to pursue novel and targeted preventive modalities to suppress the horrific pain attacks for people with cluster headache.

Indexed as

Cluster HeadachePreventive MedicineEuropeHumansLithium CompoundsLysergic Acid DiethylamideOxygenPatientsPhysiciansPrednisonePsilocybinTopiramateTryptaminesVerapamilLithium CompoundsLysergic Acid DiethylamideOxygenPrednisonePsilocybinTopiramateTryptaminesVerapamilBurdenCGRPCluster headacheReviewTreatmentVerapamil

Identifiers

PMID37667192
PMCPMC10476341
OpenAlexW4386413912

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.