Professional background

Dr Sanjay Cheema is a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. He sees patients with a wide variety of neurological symptoms and diseases in his general neurology clinic. He sees patients with complex headache disorders such as treatment-refractory migraine, cluster headache, cranial neuralgias, and rare headache syndromes in a specialist headache clinic. He has a particular interest in the management of patients with orthostatic headache and spinal CSF leaks and runs a weekly clinic and MDT meeting for these disorders in collaboration with neuroradiology and spinal surgery colleagues. 

Dr Cheema’s undergraduate training was at Imperial College School of Medicine where he qualified with multiple distinctions and a 1st class intercalated BSc in neuroscience and mental health. His general medical training was in the Oxford deanery and West London, and his neurology training was based in Brighton and Sussex.

From 2020-2024, he completed a PhD on new daily persistent headache syndromes at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. He has published widely on a variety of primary and secondary headache disorders and was the lead author of the 2023 national consensus guideline for the management of spontaneous intracranial hypotension.  

Research interests

  • Migraine
  • Cluster headache
  • Spontaneous intracranial hypotension 

Publications

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UVrvUzsAAAAJ  

  • Cheema S, Mehta D, Qureshi A, Sayal P, Kamourieh S, Davagnanam I, et al. Spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Pract Neurol. 2024;24(2):98-105. 
  • Cheema S, Ferreira F, Parras O, Lagrata S, Kamourieh S, Pakzad A, et al. Association of Clinical and Neuroanatomical Factors With Response to Ventral Tegmental Area DBS in Chronic Cluster Headache. Neurology. 2023;101(23):e2423-e2433. 
  • Cheema S, Stubberud A, Rantell K, Nachev P, Tronvik E, Matharu M. Phenotype of new daily persistent headache: subtypes and comparison to transformed chronic daily headache. J Headache Pain. 2023;24(1):109. 
  • Cheema S, Anderson J, Angus-Leppan H, Armstrong P, Butteriss D, Carlton Jones L, et al. Multidisciplinary consensus guideline for the diagnosis and management of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2023;94(10):835-43. 
  • Cheema S, Mehta D, Ray JC, Hutton EJ, Matharu MS. New daily persistent headache: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cephalalgia. 2023;43(5):3331024231168089. 
  • Musubire AK, Cheema S, Ray JC, Hutton EJ, Matharu M. Cytokines in primary headache disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Headache Pain. 2023;24(1):36. 
  • Mehta D, Cheema S, Davagnanam I, Matharu M. Diagnosis and treatment evaluation in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1145949. 
  • Simmonds L, Lagrata S, Stubberud A, Cheema S, Tronvik E, Matharu M, et al. An open-label observational study and meta-analysis of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation in medically refractory chronic cluster headache. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1100426. 
  • Cheema S, Matharu M. Abdominal migraine and cyclical vomiting syndrome. Handb Clin Neurol. 2023:198:209-219. 
  • Ray JC, Cheema S, Foster E, Gunasekera L, Mehta D, Corcoran SJ, et al. Autonomic symptoms in migraine: Results of a prospective longitudinal study. Front Neurol. 2022;13:1036798. 
  • Cheema S, Anderson J, Duncan C, Davagnanam I, Armstrong P, Redfern N, et al. Survey of healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding spontaneous intracranial hypotension. BMJ Neurol Open. 2022;4(2):e000347. 
  • Ray JC, Pham X, Foster E, Cheema S, Corcoran SJ, Matharu MS, et al. The prevalence of headache disorders in Postural Tachycardia Syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Cephalalgia. 2022;42(11-12):1274-1287. 
  • Lambru G, Lagrata S, Levy A, Cheema S, et al. Trigeminal microvascular decompression for short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks. Brain. 2022;145(8):2882-2893. 
  • Cheema S, Joy C, Pople J, Snape-Burns J, Trevarthen T, Matharu M. Patient experience of diagnosis and management of spontaneous intracranial hypotension: a cross-sectional online survey. BMJ Open. 2022;12(1):e057438. 
  • Cappon D, Ryterska A, Akram H, Lagrata S, Cheema S, Hyam J, et al. The sensitivity to change of the cluster headache quality of life scale assessed before and after deep brain stimulation of the ventral tegmental area. J Headache Pain. 2021;22(1):52. 
  • Tso AR, Brudfors M, Danno D, Grangeon L, Cheema S, Matharu M, et al. Machine phenotyping of cluster headache and its response to verapamil. Brain. 2021;144(2):655-64. 
  • Cheema S, Matharu M. Cluster Headache: What's New? Neurol India. 2021;69:S124-S34. 
  • Grangeon L, O'Connor E, Danno D, Ngoc TMP, Cheema S, Tronvik E, et al. Is pituitary MRI screening necessary in cluster headache? Cephalalgia. 2021;41(7):779-88. 
  • Lagrata S, Cheema S, Watkins L, Matharu M. Long-Term Outcomes of Occipital Nerve Stimulation for New Daily Persistent Headache With Migrainous Features. Neuromodulation. 2021;24(6):1093-9. 
  • Khoo A, McLoughlin B, Cheema S, Weil RS, Lambert C, Manji H, et al. Postinfectious brainstem encephalitis associated with SARS-CoV-2. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020;91(9):1013-4. 
  • Stubberud A, Cheema S, Tronvik E, Matharu M. Nutcracker syndrome mimicking new daily persistent headache: A case report. Cephalalgia. 2020;40(9):1008-11. 
  • Cheema S, Bunting E, Good C, Hajela V, Ridha BH, Saha RA. Balancing immunosuppression and infection: recurrent enterovirus encephalitis in SLE. Pract Neurol. 2019;19(6):508-10. 
  • Li LQ, Cheema S, Goel N. Group B streptococcal meningitis in a previously healthy man. BMJ Case Rep. 2016;2016. 
  • Murdin L, Chamberlain F, Cheema S, Arshad Q, Gresty MA, Golding JF, et al. Motion sickness in migraine and vestibular disorders. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2015;86(5):585-7.