Headaches and pineal cyst: a case-control study.

Background: Pineal cysts have been suggested to be linked to headache pathogenesis. However, no systematic studies on this topic have been performed so far.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between pineal cysts and headache and to determine the relevance of the cyst size in this context.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of patients who consulted the neurological department between 1999 and 2006 to investigate the relationship between pineal cysts and headache and to determine the relevance of the cyst size.

Results: A total of 51 patients with pineal cyst were identified, thereby 51% were suffering from headache (half of them had migraine), whereas in the control group, only 25% had headache (thereof 31% suffered from migraine). There was a significant relationship between headache (as well as migraine) and pineal cysts (chi-square test), but no significant difference in pineal cyst diameter between the patient group with headache versus without headache (t-test).

Conclusions: Our data provide evidence for a causal relationship between pineal cysts and headache, respectively, migraine in this patient cohort.