[Effect of maladaptive sets on the clinical picture and prediction of chronic headache of tension].

Forty women with chronic headache of tension (CHAT) and 20 women of comparison group with episodic headache of tension (EHAT) were studied. The clinical study included neurological examination with assessment of headache characteristics; psychometric examination - measurement of maladaptive psychological sets with the Pain Sets and Perceptions Inventory (PBPI) and assessment of pain catastrophization using a special scale. Higher scores of maladaptive sets on "mystery" and "stability" PBPI subscales (p<0,05) and on the Pain Catastrophization Scale (p<0,05) were seen in the CHAT group compared to the EHAT. After 2-month treatment with katadolon (300 mg/day), clinical characteristics of pain were significantly better (p<0,05) while maladaptive sets and pain catastrophization remained unchanged. Maladaptive sets are rigid cognitive formations and their high level in patients with CHAT may lead to relapse of primary symptoms some time after the effective treatment.