[Hemicrania: primary headache].

Abstract

Migraine is the commonest form among the so-called primary headaches and the description of its clinical picture is lost in the mists of time. On the contrary, headaches of organic origin have only recently received a proper nosological individuation thanks to the modern technological progress achieved in the field of medicine. The migraine crisis, both with and without aura, is so typical in its clinical features that it does not require subtle instrumental methodologies to be diagnosed. In most cases a careful anamnesis provides all the elements necessary to formulate a precise diagnosis: the positive family history, the time and mode of onset of crises, the nature of head pain, the chronological stages are quite constant whatever the trigger factor may be. Some other considerations add further evidence to the primitivity of migraine. First of all, migraine can be relieved by quite structurally different drugs with different mechanisms of action. In addition, no significant relationship has ever been found between migraine and other pathologies.