Here's something from 2019: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7802413/
"As previously mentioned, it is still unclear why oxygen exhibits such good efficacy in the treatment of CH. The vasoconstrictive theory was prevalent in the early 20th century until Wolff et al. found that ergotamine constricted external carotid arteries and simultaneously relieved migrainous headaches.20 Therefore, they proposed that headache is caused by vasodilation rather than vasoconstriction. The study was published in 1938 and overturned the past theory.20 In 1961, Horton7 proposed that histamine cephalalgia was caused by the vasodilatation of extracranial vessels, and that oxygen was a vasoconstriction factor. If the vasoconstrictive effect of oxygen exists, oxygen therapy should be effective for both migraine and CH. However, the oxygen treatment is only effective for CH. In the 1980s, some studies reported a decrease of cerebrospinal flui in patients after breathing 100% oxygen as compared to breathing room air.21 Since then, animal model studies have demonstrated the protective, anti-inflammatory role of hyperoxia in microcirculatory inflammation. In 2006, Schuh-Hofer et al.11 demonstrated that hyperoxia can inhibit dural plasma protein extravasation in rats. Recent studies have suggested that CH is associated with some brain structures, including the trigeminovascular system, the cranial autonomic system, and the hypothalamus. The activation of the trigeminovascular system is thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of CH. Goadsby and Edvinsson22 attempted to demonstrate the associations between hyperoxia and neuropeptides, and the results indicated that a significant reduction of calcitonin gene related peptide concentration in the jugular vein after oxygen treatment occurred, which suggests a possible effect of hyperoxia on trigeminal afferents. However, animal experiments have shown that oxygen does not directly act on trigeminal afferents, but appears to play a key role at the parasympathetic pathways.23 At present, studies assume that oxygen may act as a terminating factor in CH attacks. More research is needed to clarify the specific mechanisms of oxygen treatment for CH.
Table 1.
The history of oxygen used for cluster headache
Study
Year
Findings
Alvarez et al.15
1940
First use of oxygen for headache at a flow rate between 6 and 8 L/min.
Horton16
1952
First description of oxygen used for histamine cephalalgia.
Horton17
1955
Oxygen treatment in 1176 patients with histamine cephalalgia.
Horton7
1961
He raised the vasoconstrictive effect of oxygen in histamine cephalalgia.
Kudrow et al.18
1981
First systematic study on oxygen used for cluster headache.
Fogan et al.12
1985
Crossover study found that oxygen was more effective than room air.
Cohen et al.19
2009
Oxygen at 12 L/min, as well as at 7 L/min, was effective.
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Figure 1.
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The possible mechanism of oxygen in cluster headache.
Note: TCC: Trigeminal cervical complex.