Ice cream headache: cerebral blood flow evaluation

Abstract

Ice cream headache is a well-known type of headache occurring in children and adults. The recent International Headache Classification (ICHD-3,4.5.2) describes the ice cream headache as a “short-lasting frontal or temporal pain in susceptible people by the passage of cold material over the palate and/or posterior pharyngeal wall.”1 The pathophysiology of ice cream headache is not well known. It has been postulated that ice cream headache may represent a model of migraine. A vascular phenomenon or a neurovascular disturbance may have a role in the pathogenesis of ice cream headache. Unfortunately, studies evaluating the role of cerebral vascular velocity in pathogenesis are limited.2,3