
A nasal spray containing ketamine might help relieve migraine headaches when other treatments fail, a new study suggests. Ketamine is a synthetic anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that is sometimes used intravenously for migraine headaches. It’s being tried for treatment-resistant depression, too. But it’s also a potentially addictive “party” drug so it is not for everyone. In this trial, researchers report that 49% of migraine sufferers who used the nasal spray found it very effective in relieving pain. Forty percent said it was somewhat effective and nearly 36% said it improved their quality of life. “It’s for patients who’ve tried several other treatments that haven’t been effective and for patients that are really disabled or significantly disabled by their pain,” said senior researcher Dr. Michael Marmura. He is a headache specialist at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. It’s not for patients with a history of substance abuse, he said. Ketamine is usually given intravenously, Marmura said, noting that a nasal spray is more convenient. However, this ease of use also ups the potential for misuse. The drug is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of migraines and is not commercially available as a nasal spray, Marmura noted. “This is not something that we suspect will be widely adopted, but I think that there may be a role for this for… read on > read on >