Ketamine + Magnesium for Chronic Cluster Headache (KETALGIA)
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2024-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Chronic cluster headache (CCH) is a rare primary headache disorder, defined by episodic
attacks that occur for more than one year with no remission period or with remission periods
lasting < 3 months (ICHD-3 criteria). In certain cases, CCH patients become drug-resistant
and continue to suffer almost daily attacks.
Ketamine appears to be effective in a variety of chronic pain conditions, such as refractory
headache, and can show an enhanced analgesic effect when combined with magnesium. A single
infusion of ketamine-magnesium combination has been described to reduce attacks in 17
patients with rCCH. The main outcome was a comparison of the number of daily attacks two
weeks prior to the infusion and one week after (days 7-8). The number of daily attacks
decreased from 4.3±2.4 before treatment to 1.3±1.0 after treatment (p<0.001). 13/17 had at
least 50% response. Thus, the goal of this placebo-controlled study is to try to confirm
these findings.