Cluster headache is a form of primary headache in which attacks are rapid in onset with very severe pain. The mainstays of acute therapy are inhaled oxygen and sumatriptan succinate injection. This study evaluates zolmitriptan nasal spray in the acute treatment of cluster headache.Read More →
Cluster headache and the other trigeminal-autonomic cephalalgias [paroxysmal hemicrania, short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) syndrome] are rare but very disabling conditions with a major impact on the patient’s quality of life. The objective of this study was to give evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of these headache disorders based on a literature search and consensus amongst a panel of experts. Read More →
Ketamine has demonstrated usefulness as an analgesic to treat nonresponsive neuropathic pain; however, it is not widely administered to outpatients due to fear of such side effects as hallucinations and other cognitive disturbances. This retrospective chart review is the first research to study the safety and efficacy of prolonged low-dose, continuous intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous ketamine infusions in noncancer outpatients.Read More →
The authors interviewed 53 cluster headache patients who had used psilocybin or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to treat their condition. Twenty-two of 26 psilocybin users reported that psilocybin aborted attacks; 25 of 48 psilocybin users and 7 of 8 LSD users reported cluster period termination; 18 of 19 psilocybin users and 4 of 5 LSD users reported remission period extension. Research on the effects of psilocybin and LSD on cluster headche may be warranted.
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This study provides evidence of persistent biochemical change of the hypothalamus in patients with episodic cluster headache. Low levels of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr suggest that cluster headache might be related to both neuronal dysfunction and changes in the membrane lipids in the hypothalamus.Read More →
The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has long been postulated to play an integral role in the pathophysiology of migraine. While clinical findings are consistent with such a role, the specific pathogenic mechanisms of CGRP in migraine have remained speculative until recently. Through advances in molecular neuroscience, the pathogenic mechanisms of CGRP in migraine have begun to be elucidated. This paper discusses the hypothesized role of CGRP in migraine and reviews recent findings on the molecular mechanisms of this neuropeptide in migraine pathophysiology. Studies in cultured trigeminal neurons demonstrate that CGRP is released from trigeminal ganglia cells, that CGRP transcription is increased under conditions mimicking neurogenic inflammation, that migraine pharmacotherapies can both reduce CGRP release and inhibit CGRP transcription, and that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), an endogenous inflammatory mediator implicated in migraine, can stimulate CGRP transcription. Read More →