Oxygen May Treat Cluster Headaches
Patients Get Oxygen Or Regular Air
Posted: 8:23 am CST December 7, 2009


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Text SizeAAAPatients who suffer excruciating pain near the eyes or temples known as cluster headaches may feel better with 15 minutes of breathing high-flow oxygen, according to a study in JAMA.

A news release said that cluster headaches usually last for 15 minutes to three hours and can come as often as eight times a day. They usually come in "clusters" that last a few weeks or months, then can go into remission for years.

Patients can get relief from drug injections, but the treatment has side effects.

The study of breathing oxygen included 109 people. They were sometimes given oxygen through a mask and sometimes just air.

The researchers found that 78 percent of the patients who received oxygen reported being pain-free or to have adequate relief within 15 minutes of treatment, compared to 20 percent of patients who received air.

"To our knowledge, this is the first adequately powered trial of high-flow oxygen compared with placebo, and it confirms clinical experience and current guidelines that inhaled oxygen can be used as an acute attack therapy for episodic and chronic cluster headache," the authors wrote.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not


Not sure what to think about this. I guess it is good press, but I thought we had come a lot farther than something that I take for common knowledge. This was on the Madison WI channel 3 news website.


                               Lee

This is anything but common knowledge, Lee. In the public discourse, I'd call this:

CHA-CHING!!

Dr Goadsby's press release got picked up!  The importance of this is that it is the first proper study done on the use of high flow oxygen, although the flow rates were not nearly as high as many of us use.  It is, however, an excellent start as it allows us to point Drs to it and they have no reason not to try O2 for CH.  Looking forward to seeing the whole study when it is released.

Jerry

Oh it was an interview that Prof Goadsby had asked OUCH for help with and we have been given permission to link to it on the OUCH website after the 9th since that is when it is being released in JAMA.

Out of courtesy we won't do so beforehand but the press release is already up on OUCH

Helen

I saw that on channel 3 also.  I have their website as one of my many homepages.  I posted a comment also.  Good catch Lee.

Out of courtesy, and much respect for Professor Goadsby, we will not be publishing his article here until after it is published in Jama, which I believe is tomorrow.  If you have a copy of the article please refrain from posting it in our forum until THURSDAY! 

Thank you for your cooperation and consideration for Professor Goadsby's hard work and dedication to this community!

Steph  :)