Edited by:
Professor Shih-Pin Chen, MD, PhD, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
Professor Cenk Ayata, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School, United States of America
The Journal of Headache and Pain is calling for submissions to our Collection on Vascular Triggers of Headache Disorders.
Image credits: © samunella / stock.adobe.com
Professor Shih-Pin Chen, MD, PhD, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
Dr. Shih-Pin Chen, a physician-scientist, is currently the Chief of Division of Translational Research at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and a Professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Dedicated to the study of headaches and neurovascular diseases, Dr. Chen employs a multi-faceted research approach, integrating clinical expertise, neuroimaging, genomics, and animal models. He has authored over 150 research articles and textbook chapters. Dr. Chen has served as an Associate Editor of The Journal of Headache and Pain since 2023, the Secretary General of the Asia Regional Consortium of Headache, and a member of the Science and Research Committee of the International Headache Society.
Professor Cenk Ayata, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School, USADr. Cenk Ayata is a Professor of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Neurovascular Research Unit. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Ayata's research straddles translational efforts to understand neurovascular function and dysfunction, focusing on ischemic and hemorrhagic brain injuries, cerebral small vessel disease, and migraine. His laboratory uses electrophysiological and multimodal optical imaging techniques in animal models of ischemic or hemorrhagic brain injury and migraine to dissect pathophysiology and test therapeutic interventions. His work has been supported by the NIH, AHA, Leducq Foundation, industry, private non-profit foundations, and philanthropy. In over 200 peer-reviewed articles, his most notable contributions have been spreading depolarizations in brain injury and migraine, preclinical testing of stroke and migraine therapeutics, and multicenter preclinical stroke trials.
The interplay between vascular mechanisms and headache, especially migraine, has long navigated through a sea of intricate and sometimes contradictory research findings, crafting a narrative that intertwines the serenity of clear connections with the tempest of unresolved queries. In this article Collection, we cordially invite researchers and clinicians to sail with us into an exploration of "Vascular Triggers of Headache", in which we shall embark on a journey through the vasculature and its posited roles, shedding light on known territories and voyaging into the unexplored.
The intricate tapestry of vascular causes associated with headache is rich, yet not fully unraveled. Migraine, an enigmatic and multifaceted neurological disorder, has historically been enshrouded in vascular theories, with early hypotheses anchoring its pathophysiology to cerebral vasodilation. Conversely, contemporary research has somewhat diverted from this stringent vascular focus, steering towards neuronal and neurovascular platforms. A divergence that inevitably sparks the debate: Is migraine predominantly a vascular disorder? We invite scholarly debates that weigh anchor in evidence and conjecture alike, providing a balanced scrutiny into this age-old question and its concomitant hypotheses. Comprehensive reviews that delve into vascular culprits such as cranial or cervical artery dissections, cerebral microemboli, patent foramen ovale (PFO), reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), and other vasculopathies (both genetic and acquired) will serve to both illuminate and question our current understanding, unearthing new questions and pathways for exploration.
Further, we welcome original research articles that puncture through the current membrane of knowledge regarding the vascular mechanisms and headache. Innovative methodologies, exploratory studies, and research that breeches into new channels of understanding are particularly encouraged.
Through this article Collection, we endeavor to create a confluence of ideas, knowledge, and curiosity. While the vascular mechanisms underlying headache and migraine remain an enigma, enveloped in a fog of partial understanding, this compilation aims to gather a fleet of scientific minds to dispel the mist and navigate towards enlightenment.
Migraine-related perfusion changes are documented but inconsistent across studies due to limited sample size and insufficient phenotyping. The phasic and spatial dynamics across migraine subtypes remains poorl...
While growing evidence suggests a relationship between migraine and cardiovascular disease, the genetic evidence for a causal relationship between migraine and cardiovascular disease is still scarce. Investiga...
This Collection welcomes submission of original research articles, debate/controversies, and reviews. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal.
Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. Please, select the appropriate Collection title “Vascular Triggers of Headache Disorders" under the “Details” tab during the submission stage.
Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.
The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.