'Clear Evidence' Oral Steroid Effective for 'Suicide Headache'
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Adjunctive oral prednisone appears to significantly reduce cluster headache attacks, new research shows. Results of the multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial show that patients who received the steroid had 25% fewer attacks in the first week of therapy compared to their counterparts who received placebo. In addition, more than a third of patients in the prednisone group were pain free, and for almost half, headache frequency was reduced by at least 50% at day 7 of treatment.
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@rose Cluster headaches are intense unilateral attacks of facial and head pain. They last 15 to 180 minutes and predominantly affect men. They are accompanied by trigeminal autonomic symptoms and are extremely painful. The cause is unclear, although there's some evidence that the hypothalamus is involved. The headaches sometimes follow a "strict circadian pattern," said Obermann. He noted that the attacks might occur over a few weeks or months and then not return for months or even years.