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Current evidence-based acute treatments of cluster headache are limited to oxygen inhalation and subcutaneous sumatriptan. Intranasal sumatriptan is a new formulation with better tolerability than the subcutaneous route. Two open-label studies suggested efficacy of intranasal sumatriptan in cluster headache.

This study investigated the efficacy of zolmitriptan (Zomig, formerly 311C90) in acute migraine therapy. Patients with a history of migraine were randomized in a double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled, dose range-finding study of oral zolmitriptan 1, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg versus placebo for the treatment of a severe or moderate migraine headache. Patients with persistent or recurrent headache 4 to 24 hours after the initial dose, who did not take escape medication, were eligible to receive a second blinded dose of either zolmitriptan or placebo. Of 1,144 patients treated, 999 evaluable patients completed the study. The headache response rates with zolmitriptan doses ≥ 2.5 mg were 44 to 51% at 1 hour, 65 to 67% at 2 hours, and 75 to 78% at 4 hours (all significantly superior to placebo). Also, zolmitriptan effectively relieved migraine-associated symptoms such as nausea, photophobia and phonophobia, and reduced activity impairment. Rates of headache recurrence, headache persistence, and use of escape medication were lower with zolmitriptan doses ≥ 2.5 mg than with placebo. In patients with persistent or recurrent headache, a second zolmitriptan dose effectively treated both headache and nonheadache symptoms. Zolmitriptan was well tolerated, with a lower incidence of adverse events being reported with doses≤ 2.5 mg than with those ≥5 mg. Zolmitriptan is a well tolerated and effective acute migraine therapy providing rapid relief of migraine headache within 1 hour. A clear dose-response relationship between efficacy and tolerability suggests that 2.5 mg is the optimal initial dose for the acute treatment of a migraine attack.

Ten patients with severe dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or multi‐infarct dementia (MID) or both, were treated with the precursor amino acids of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. The precursor amino acids (PAA) were given orally in a preparation that included tyrosine (4 gm daily) and 5‐hydroxytryptophan (5‐HTP) (800 mg daily), plus carbidopa (100 mg daily) as an aromatic amino‐acid decarboxylase inhibitor. Diagnosis was established by an electroencephalogram, brain scan, computerized axial tomographic scan, and in one case by necropsy findings. Serial clinical evaluations and measurements of neuropsychologic function were performed. Levels of homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) were determined before and after administration of probenecid. Side effects of the PAA therapy were diarrhea, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting and agitation, all of which were controlled by reducing the dosage. One patient with MID and one with AD + MID showed clinical and psychologic improvement, but the others did not improve. Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid for HVA and 5‐HIAA before and after the probenecid test indicated some improvement in the metabolic turnover of these acid metabolites of serotonin and dopamine after administration of their precursor amino acids.