The existence of a special lupus headache is contested, although few high-quality studies are available to form definitive conclusions.
[5] Critics of this concept argue that there are no quality studies showing that headaches in patients with SLE differ from those in the general population.
[3] Migraine patients are typically adult women around age 40, a demographic group in which SLE is also more common.
[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][excessive citations] Further studies are needed however to prove the underlying assumption that cerebral vasospasm causes migraines in lupus patients.
Although specific complications of SLE may cause headache (such as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis or posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome), it remains unclear whether specific investigations (such as lumbar puncture or magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) are needed in lupus patients presenting with headache.