Cluster headaches is a problem which is characterised by excruciating pain that may last from fifteen minutes to up to three hours if left untreated.

London, Sept 14: The Beatles made a bold statement in the 60s by singing ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’, which was at that time believed to be a front for hallucinatory experiences after consuming LSD.

And now, over 40 years later, scientists have found that the taboo drug may actually have some benefits, in that they may help abort cluster headaches.

Cluster headaches is a problem which is characterised by excruciating pain that may last from fifteen minutes to up to three hours if left untreated.

In the chronic form, the attacks can happen up to eight times a day, with no period of remission lasting longer than a month.

Researchers at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts claim that their study is the first formal look at the therapeutic benefits of LSDs in 40 years.

Lead researcher Andrew Sewell says that to reduce the pain sufferers are often given supplemental oxygen, and sometimes prescribed migraine drugs, but contends these either may not work or may have the side effects.

Sewell and his colleague John Halpern interviewed 53 cluster-headache sufferers around the world, who had self-administered psychedelics in an attempt to alleviate their symptoms.

They found that use psilocybin aborted attacks in the majority (85%) of interviewees. The result of these hallucinogens was better than the use of oxygen, which stopped attacks for 52% of the patients surveyed.

The authors believe that users of LSD and psilocybin may be more likely to report good experiences than bad, as these hallucinogens are both better at preventing future attacks than conventional medicines.

"Many retrospective studies have shown strong effects that evaporated when studied properly, so we are inclined to take a sceptical stance," Nature magazine quoted Sewell, as saying.

The researchers are still not clear how the drugs might work, but are sure that they affect the brain.

LSD and psilocybin are types of amines called tryptamines, and their chemical structures are very similar to natural neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

Halpern and Sewell now want clinical trials of LSD and psilocybin to be performed to check wether this treatment works.

"We owe it to patients to determine whether this treatment works," says Sewell. "And we owe it to neurologists to provide them with accurate information so that they can effectively counsel patients."

--- ANI