Associate professor UT Health Science Center at Houston Houston, Texas, United States
Cluster headache, and to some extent migraine and trigeminal neuralgia, exhibit circadian rhythms of attacks, but the circadian basis remains poorly understood. In mice, we found that trigeminal ganglion ex vivo and single-cell cultures demonstrate strong circadian rhythms. Additionally, nitroglycerin-treated mice display circadian rhythms of pain sensitivity which were abolished in arrhythmic Per1/2 double knockout mice. Finally, RNA-sequencing analysis of the trigeminal ganglion revealed a large-scale expression change in nitroglycerin mice versus control mice.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the role of the trigeminal ganglion in headache disorders
Identify the circadian pattern of cluster headache, migraine, and trigeminal neuralgia
Discuss the connection between the trigeminal ganglion and the circadian clock
