Cluster Headaches

Treatment

Although there is no cure, the goal of treatment is to decrease the severity of the pain and shorten the duration of the headache. Mayo Clinic headache specialists work closely with patients to determine the most effective treatment.

Treatment of Acute Cluster Headaches

Treatment of an acute attack includes the inhalation of oxygen, or a triptan-type medication often given by self-administered injection.

Preventive Anti-Cluster Headache Therapy

Daily use of a cortisonelike medicine can help temporarily arrest cluster attacks, but these medications should not be given for a long time. A calcium channel blocker, also used to treat high blood pressure, can help prevent or reduce the frequency of cluster attacks. Lithium carbonate and several anticonvulsants are also useful as preventive therapies.

Surgical Treatment

Mayo surgeons have operated on the trigeminal nerve to relieve symptoms in some people who suffer from chronic cluster headaches unresponsive to other therapy, A more recent promising treatment is the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS).

DBS involves the implantation of an electrode into the brain. The electrode is connected to an electrical pacemaker-like device programmed to send pulses of electricity that reorganize the brain's electrical impulses, which can relieve symptoms. In cluster headache patients, the electrode is implanted in the area of the brain known as the hypothalamus. Among other things, the hypothalamus helps control sleep-wake cycles and the body's biological clock — systems involved in the cyclical nature of the cluster headache attacks.