Nasal Spray Shows Promise Against Cluster Headaches

It's typically used to treat migraine pain, researchers say

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that a nasal spray used to treat migraine headaches also relieves the pain of extraordinarily debilitating "cluster" headaches.

With few side effects, the nasal spray -- zolmitriptan (Zomig) -- appears to work by targeting nerves that carry pain signals. "It's very convenient and very safe," said study co-author Dr. Peter Goadsby, professor of clinical neurology at University College London. "It's good news for patients."

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Cluster headaches are much less common than migraines, affecting about one in 1,000 people. They typically strike in clusters once or twice a year, causing attacks one or two times a day for two to three months, Goadsby said.

Cluster headaches, whose causes are unclear, appear to be connected to cycles of light and dark. According to Goadsby, the clusters are most common around the spring and fall equinoxes, and the headaches themselves often happen at specific times during the day, such as 1 p.m., 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

"You can almost set a clock by what happens," Goadsby said.

The attacks themselves are "quite unique," lasting for about two hours but on just one side of the head, he said.

Unfortunately for patients, the headaches are extremely difficult to tolerate. "A cluster is like a hot poker in the eye," said Dr. Stephen Silberstein, director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and spokesman for the American Headache Society.

There are treatments for cluster headaches, including pure oxygen and a variety of drugs, but they don't work for all patients. Enter the nasal spray known as zolmitriptan, which is used to treat migraines.

In the new study, researchers tested the spray on 92 patients, 80 of whom were men, the gender most likely to get cluster headaches. Because some patients dropped out of the study or did not have enough headaches during the study period, 69 patients were included in the final analysis.

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