According to the authors is the first study on the therapeutic efficacy of hallucinogenic drugs. The study, published in Neurology , marks the first formal investigation into the therapeutic benefits with this type of drug in almost 40 years. posteriores. LSD ( lysergic acid ) was used in psychiatric research ampliablemente in the 60's, but the prohibitions against this substance hindered further studies.

y psilocibina, uno de los principios activos de las setas “mágicas”, para determinar la efectividad del tratamiento. Andrew Sewell, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center (ADARC) at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and coordinator of the study on the therapeutic benefits of the hallucinogenic effect of these drugs, has begun clinical trials with LSD and psilocybin, one of the active ingredients of mushrooms "magic" to determine the effectiveness of treatment.

The study grew out of some internet messages about stories of victims of cluster headaches and the beneficial effects of hallucinogenic drugs with complete remission at six months, with one or two doses, says Sewell.

Cluster headache or migrainous neuralgia is characterized by affecting one side of the head and may be associated with tearing or nasal congestion. It comes on suddenly and severely, repeatedly, every day at the same time for several weeks and then begins to decrease. In the chronic form, attacks can happen up to eight a day. This type of headaches affect men more often than women and, although they can occur in people of any age, are more common between adolescence and adulthood. There seems to be a familiar pattern in their development.

Today there is no cure for this disease, though there are adjuvants therapies such as administration of oxygen to partially relieve the pain. Medications prescribed for these headaches are not very effective and have many side effects. Hence the research on alternative therapies.

LSD and psilocybin are two types of amines called tryptamines and their chemical structures are very similar to natural neurotransmitters such as serotonin. A standard treatment for cluster headaches, the methysergida, is chemically similar to LSD.