A recent Italian study of 108 hospitalised COVID-19 patients conducted by Veria Vacchiano and her colleagues at the University of Bologna and published online in Neurological Sciences, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04525-z, demonstrated a significant association between headache and muscle pain. The researchers interpreted their findings by reference to Dr. Marlowe’s earlier study https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(92)90110-n demonstrating headache sufferers to be more pain sensitive than people with no significant headache history. The earlier findings allowed the Italian researchers to disconfirm the hypothesis that the association could be an early indicator of COVID-19. Instead, their findings highlight the need to investigate other neurological signs. Such a conclusion is a good illustration of how quality research, conducted several years ago and, for a completely different purpose (investigation of central nervous system pain regulation in headache), can shape the direction of today’s investigations into the urgent problem of COVID-19.
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