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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
        
(Message started by: floridian on Oct 31^st, 2006, 11:17am)

Title: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by floridian on Oct 31^st, 2006, 11:17am

Not much info in the listing, but good to see that other countries are conducting and publishing cluster-busting research!

Quote:

Rev Neurol. 2006 Nov 1-15;43(9):571-2. Links
[Chronic cluster headache: response to psilocybin.]
[Article in Spanish]

* Sempere AP,
* Berenguer-Ruiz L,
* Almazan F.

Hospital Vega Baja, 03314 Orihuela, Espana.

PMID: 17072817 [PubMed - in process]

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by LeeS on Oct 31^st, 2006, 11:47am

Good spot Flo! There is a clusterbuster in Spain (not sure if he's here) - I'll let him know.

Thanks.

-Lee

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Poli on Nov 1^st, 2006, 1:31pm

Hello. Yes, it's me. Flo, How did you get it on 31/10? It's published on 01/11 in the second review of neurology, after the english one. Now some more people have the information. I'm pain free 9 months ago with 1 monthly
maintenance dose, life is bonita , and I want to share it.
Saludos
Poli :D

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by floridian on Nov 1^st, 2006, 2:00pm

Glad to hear it is working for you, Poli! Can you give us more information about the article - I found the listing on PubMed. Sometimes the abstracts come out a few days before the journal.

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by tanner on Nov 1^st, 2006, 3:26pm

Poli, any chance of an English translation? You know the kind we speak, not the stuff that Lee and Helen use ;;D.

I always enjoy seeing your flag over here. It brightens up the place!

Best wishes, Tim

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Pinkfloyd on Nov 2^nd, 2006, 1:12am

Thanks for your work on this Poli.

Well done and Bravo!!

Bobw
also in process of working on a translation.

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Poli on Nov 5^th, 2006, 6:04am

Hi all. Sorry, I'm a bit busy by now. This is the link to the article. You have to register to get the PDF, but it's free
and anonymus.

http://www.revneurol.com/

With time, I'll try to translate it, but too much technical words.
Saludos
Poli

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Sandy_C on Nov 5^th, 2006, 3:26pm

Rats - 4 years of Spanish in high school, with straight A's across the board - I'm lucky if I can pick up every 50th word!

Eagerly awaiting the translation.

Sandy

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by BikerBob on Nov 6^th, 2006, 1:55am

Spanish report - English Translation

John Halpern had this translated for us.

Enjoy, and thanks again Poli and BobW,

572 REV NEUROL 2006; 43 (9), 571-572

Chronic cluster headaches responding to psilocibin.

Cluster headaches are considered the most painful of all primary headaches(1) . They represent 1.5% of all outpatient headache patients(2) and it is a frequent cause of emergency room visits(3). It affects more men than women and the age of onset is generally between age 20 and 40. Cluster headaches can be classified into two categories: Episodic: With periods of remission of over a month. Chronic: The headaches last through the year and the periods of remission are less than a month.

Abortive treatments of choice include oxygen at 100% and subcutaneous sumatriptan( 5). Inhaled oxygen has the inconvenience of difficult access. Sumatriptan subcutanous has a 74% efficacy in 15 minutes(6). Sumatriptan is contraindicated in patients with uncontrolled hypertension or cardiac ischemia, frequently found in male smokers. The preventive treatment consists of prednisione to suppress attacks, while starting maintanence treatment. The preventive treatment of choice is verapamil, with a 69% response (7). If verapamil fails, there are other possibilities such as topiramate and lithium. However, none of the mentioned 3 medications are FDA indicated for this therapeutic reason. When the pharmacological treatments fail there is the option of surgery. The most commonly performed is the thermo coagulation of the trigeminal nucleus by radio waves.

We present a patient with chronic cluster headaches, resistant to medical treatment, with an excellent response to psicocybin treatment, an alkaloid from the tryptamine family. A review of the literature in PubMed did not find any articles in Spanish regarding the use of psicobilin in the treatment of cluster headaches.

A 47 year old male, with an unremarkable medical history except for being a smoker with cluster headaches, episodic type, since age 40 have transformed into chronic cluster headaches. His neurological exam was normal. He required Sumatriptan, subcutaneously almost on a daily basis and in home oxygen. Occasionally he would use oral ergotamine before going to bed to prevent nocturnal attacks. Zolmitriptan oral was not effective in abortive use. A trial of preventive treatment was attempted including oral prednisone with verapamil (240mg a day) and topirimate (100mg a day), that were ineffective. Through an internet forum on patients with cluster headaches, this patient informed himself on other posible treatments, specifically the treatment of Psilocybe cubensis. Initially psilocybin was used in the acute attack of cluster headache and it accomplished disappearance of the pain within 20 minutes. After three doses in two weeks the cluster headache attacks were gone. The patient has continued asymptomatic for the last 6 months taking an infusion of P. cubensis consisting of 30mg of fresh mushroom and 3gm of dehydrated mushroom once a month. The patient did not experience the hallucinogenic effect with psilocybin. Psilocybin is an alkaloid of the tryptamine family. It is found in many species of mushrooms, specially the of the genre Psilocybe, like P. cubensis and P. semilanceata ( 8 ). Psilocybin transforms to psilocin in the organism, that represents the active form and acts as a serotonergic agonist at 5-Ht2a(9). Psilocybin is considered a drug with legal implications, that is why it's cultivation and sale is considered a crime. Recently an observational study has been published that gathered the use of psilocybin and LSD in the treatment of cluster headaches(10) . In the mentioned study, psilocybin was able to abort attacks in 22 of 26 patients (85%) and a preventative effect in 90% of patients (totally effective in in 52 % and partially effective in 37%). In addition, psilocybin was able to prolong the period of remission in 20 of 22 patients that used it (91%). This study has evident limitations, like the authors pointed out the bias of selection, the patients were contacted through a patient support group. And a possible placebo effect. Psilocybin would count on the advantage of having both an abortive action as well as preventative of cluster headache attacks. The therapeutic effect of psilocybin occurs in subhallucinogenic doses, which indicates a different mechanism of action to it psychoactive effects. The only interests of these clinical observations, far from supporting the use of psilocybin in the treatment of cluster headaches, would be to set the need for controlled clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of psilocybin, as well as the need for more research.

Well done and Bravo, Poli and BobW!

BB

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by BikerBob on Nov 6^th, 2006, 2:24am

References:

> A.P. Sempere a, L. Berenguer-Ruiz a,
> F. Almazán b
> Aceptado tras revisión externa: 12.09.06.
> a Servicio de Neurología. b Servicio de Medicina Interna.
> Hospital General Universitario de Alicante.
> Alicante, España.
> Correspondencia: Dr. Ángel Pérez Sempere. Servicio
> de Neurología. Hospital General Universitario
> de Alicante. Pintor Baeza, s/n. E-03010 Alicante.
> E-mail: aperezs@mac. com
> BIBLIOGRAFÍA
> 1. Capobianco DJ, Dodick DW. Diagnosis and
> treatment of cluster headache. Semin Neurol
> 2006; 26: 242-59.
> 2. García-Escrivá A, Asensio-Asensio M, López-
> Hernández N, González-Aznar OJ, Oliver-
> Navarrete C, Álvarez-Saúco M, et al. Actividad
> asistencial en una consulta específica
> de cefalea. Rev Neurol 2004; 39: 401-5.
> 3. Jiménez-Caballero PE. Análisis de las cefaleas
> atendidas en las guardias de Neurología.
> Rev Neurol 2005; 40: 648-51.
> 4. The International Classification of Headache
> Disorders. Headache Sub-committee of the
> International Headache Society. Cephalalgia
> 2004; 24 (Suppl 1): S1-150.
> 5. Volcy-Gómez M. Cefalea en racimos: diagnóstico,
> fisiopatologí a y tratamiento. Rev Neurol
> 2006; 42: 114-21.
> 6. The Sumatriptan Cluster Headache Study
> Group. Treatment of acute cluster headache
> with sumatriptan. N Engl J Med 1991; 325:
> 322-6.
> 7. Gabai IJ, Spierings EL. Prophylactic treatment
> of cluster headache with verapamil. Headache
> 1989; 29: 167-8.
> 8. Carod-Artal FJ. Síndromes neurológicos asociados
> con el consumo de plantas y hongos
> con componente tóxico (II). Hongos y plantas
> alucinógenos, micotoxinas y hierbas medicinales.
> Rev Neurol 2003; 36: 951-60.
> 9. Psilocybin. In: Wikipedia. URL: http://en.
> wikipedia.org/ wiki/Psilocybin. Fecha última
> consulta: 15.07.2006.
> 10. Sewell RA, Halpern JH, Pope HG Jr. Response
> of cluster headache to psilocybin and
> LSD. Neurology 2006; 66: 1920-2.
> CORRESPONDENCIA
>

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by cluster on Nov 6^th, 2006, 7:45am

Thank you Poli, BikerBob (and John Halpern)!

Here is a one click link to the spanish original:

Respuesta de la cefalea en racimos crónica a la psilocibina (http://www.cefaleaenracimos.arrakis.es/RevNeurol4.pdf) - Spanish (PDF)

This is a link to the english translation as a PDF:

English Translation (http://www.ck-wissen.de/forum/useraction.php?action=get_upload&id=37)

If opening the files doesn't work: try saving them first.

Regards and pain free wishes,
Friedrich

Modified to include Poli!

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Carl1958 on Nov 6^th, 2006, 9:10am

Well done Poli, & many thanks for letting us read this.. :)

I did try to post this on OUCH(UK), but unfortunately the BOT removed it :-[...Twice.

CArl... 8)

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Poli on Nov 6^th, 2006, 2:33pm

Hi Friedrich, vielen dank für daine helfen, ich glaube wird sind alles zussamenarbeiten.
CArl, don`t worry, we can botar the BOT (look translation for botar), let the prudish suffer and enjoy the life.
After this I have to tell you all that I'm learning Chinese and
I threaten with a report.
Saludos
Poli

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by cluster on Nov 6^th, 2006, 5:51pm

Hola Poli,

¿Qué tal?

No reason to thank me, BikerBob came up with the translation!

¡hasta la vista!

Friedrich

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by vig on Nov 6^th, 2006, 7:31pm

thanks to all of you

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Kevin_M on Nov 6^th, 2006, 10:12pm

on 11/06/06 at 01:55:07, BikerBob wrote:

Spanish report - English Translation

572 REV NEUROL 2006; 43 (9), 571-572

Chronic cluster headaches responding to psilocibin.

This study has evident limitations, like the authors pointed out the bias of selection, the patients were contacted through a patient support group.

Is a reasonable design being talked about, capable of working with this being possibly not a reoccurring point. It seems difficult to get around.

Title: Re: Spanish Cluster-Buster Research
Post by Pinkfloyd on Nov 7^th, 2006, 12:12am

on 11/06/06 at 22:12:06, Kevin_M wrote:

Is a reasonable design being talked about, capable of working with this being possibly not a reoccurring point. It seems difficult to get around.

Yes.

I'm flying out to McLean on the 18th to finish up work on the protocol, with the research team.

Bobw