NEUROLOGICAL EPISODES AFTER MINOR HEAD-INJURY AND TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION

Children appear particularly susceptible to severe but reversible neur ological symptoms and/or signs after minor head injury; these include headache, confusion, drowsiness, vomiting, hemiparesis, cortical blind ness, or seizures. Significantly, these neurological episodes are not associated with any identifiable structural brain abnormality on neuro -imaging. We propose that the cause of this condition is a reactive hy peraemia, a 'benign hyperaemic encephalopathy' mediated via activation of the trigeminovascular system.