shocked

At The Paroxysmal Neurology Symposium in Chicago on April 07 2010 Frederick G Freitag of the Diamond Headache Clinic, Chicago gave an oral presentation on Cluster Headache To Review the current understanding of the pathophysiology of cluster headache, be able to recognize the clinical features of cluster headache and to develop a strategy for treatment of cluster headache. http://tinyurl.com/3234myp frontiersin org He mentions in his Preventive treatment > other preventative medicines > other approaches “psychedelics including peyote mushroom tea” (among others) shocked

EGA 2010 Psychedelic Symposium Melbourne University – 4th and 5th December Rick Doblin Headlining It is with enormous delight that EGA will be bringing Rick Doblin to Australia to headline this year’s Symposium. Rick is the founder of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) a non-profit membership-based research and educational organization. Amongst other things, MAPS sponsors clinical studies intended to obtain US Food & Drug Administration [FDA] approval for the use of MDMA and LSD as prescription medicines. Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) is a not-for-profit association that exists to create a supportive environment that fosters mature, open discussion about psychoactive plants and chemicals. We seek to explore ways to assess societal impacts and examine the positive applications of plant-based psychoactives and empathogens. Entheogenesis Australis is a collection of thinkers from all walks of life, we come together to share knowledge about sacred plants, chemical alchemy and states of consciousness. We hope you will join us on this exploration http://entheogenesis.org/index.html shocked

Dave King is a medical anthropology student at the University of Kent with a research interest in psychedelics. He says that he plans to study pharmacognosy at the London School of Pharmacy after his degree, before eventually going on to continue past a doctorate into ethnopharmacological research involving hallucinogens Dave is responsible for The UKC Psychedelics Society based at the University of Kent at Canterbury. This society may be of particular interest to students of medicine, anthropology, law, sociology, politics, philosophy, music, or art. The UKC Psychedelics Society aims to provide multidisciplinary information, research and news about the use and history of psychedelics. This society is not an inherently pro-drug organisation, rather a society that will aim to educate about a fascinating class of chemicals and plants. Disciplines and areas of relevant interest include the following: psychiatric use; chemical properties; the link to shamanism, spirituality and religion; their role in the evolution of modern man; law and politics; historical use; cultural perspectives; pharmacology and neurology; ethnobotany; medical safety; philosophy of freedom; and psychology of the psychedelic experience. With no intention to persuade or encourage use of psychedelics, their aims are to help reduce the possibility of negative experiences among those who have an inclination to explore such compounds by the provision of valuable information. The importance of psychedelics in psychotherapy is, once again, rising, and their aim is to keep their members aware of current research, medical studies and any changes in legislation that may accompany this growing recognition of psychiatric use. Aims: 1. To draw attention to the beneficial, psychotheraputic uses of a class of compounds currently buried in stigma. 2. To explain the origin of that stigma, and help reduce it. 3. To teach members about areas of research that may be previously unknown to them. 4. To incite interesting and productive debate between anti-drug and pro-drug members, both of whom we wish to invite. 5. To invite specialist guest speakers to present lectures We want to provide an open-ended and unbiased forum for people who are interested in discussing the past, present and future of the use of psychedelic drugs. The society shall focus on using guest speakers to inform and educate its members on areas of psychedelic research as diverse as the law, history, anthropology, chemistry, the psychotherapeutic benefits and the philosophical implications of the psychedelic experience The more that we see psychedelics through a scientific lens the more one must start to accept these substances are not quite what we have been led to believe. If one stops thinking of psychedelic drugs as simply ‘illicit’, and instead thinks of them as ‘medicinal’, one must naturally begin to look at the results of medical trials and scientific examinations. A list of people who have expressed interest in giving presentations to the Psychedelics Society include: Dr. Ben Sessa: Consultant psychiatrist and hallucinogen researcher. Dr. Peter Brackenridge: Doctor running an ibogaine clinic in London. Dr. Anna Waldstein: Lecturer in Medical Anthropology and Ethnobotany, and Convenor of the BSc in Medical Anthropology at the University of Kent. Dr. Raj Puri: Senior Lecturer in Environmental Anthropology and Convenor of the MA/MSc programme in Environmental Anthropology. Dr. Axel Klein: Lecturer in the Study of Addictive Behaviour. Dr. Dan Lloyd: Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology. Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris: Research Fellow of the Neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College. Alexander Beiner: Novelist, author of ‘Beyond the Basin’. Andy Letcher: Author of ‘Shroom’. Hattie Wells: Ethnobotanist specialising in ibogaine treatment and hallucinogens. Robbie, Psychedelic Artist. Dr. Matthew Watkins: mathematician who proved McKenna's Timewave Zero theory to be flawed October and onwards will see presentations from Dr. Cameron Adams, an anthropologist studying psychedelic culture, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris (a neuropsychopharmacologist presenting results from a psilocybin fMRI study), Dr. Ben Sessa (a consultant psychiatrist and hallucinogen researcher presenting a talk on the history of psychedelic psychotherapy), a psychedelic artist, and many more. Publications - A Short Introduction to Hallucinogens By Dave King A brief summary of psychedelic history, written very informally and with the layperson in mind Recent article published in Thanet, Tunbridgewells and Kent news Altering the public mindset By Dave King on attitudes towards psychedelics Kent on Sunday 6th June, 2010 http://ukcpsychedelics.co.uk shocked

Preliminary progress at ICL Bristol The administration of psilocybin to healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-functional magnetic resonance imaging environment: a preliminary investigation of tolerability. Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Imperial College London and Psychopharmacology Unit, University of Bristol. Carhart Williams Sessa B Tyacke Rich Fielding Nutt http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/20395317 Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) [2010] A “mock”-magnetic resonance imaging study, to assess the tolerability of psilocybin. This is a preliminary stage to a controlled investigation using functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of psilocybin on cerebral blood flow and activity. Shocked

More caution has been indicated - Central serous chorioretinopathy is characterized by - retinal detachment, visual loss, and abnormal colour vision and is implicated with Corticosteroids (prednisone) use. Central Serous Chorioretinopathy During Glucocorticoid Therapy For Cluster Headache Burcu Ugurel http://en.scientificcommons.org/43959454 Publisher Ege University Press 2009 This complication depending on the treatment of cluster headache with short period of corticosteroid application should be kept in mind and these patients should be observed carefully Shocked

IÂ’m a retired masq maker

Thank you for your concern and kind words Bobb mate, I’m doing just fine I feel for Mr 5447 I really do, but I can’t help wondering (with thanks to Flash, Bob and the others)- how many hits I’ve avoided by busting? We are encouraged to keep a diary as it can help us and our physicians get a better handle on things. I’ve met with/heard of many CH’ers who can tell you how many hits they’ve had over the years, and add – what time each one was, the ambient temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, what they had to eat, drink, taken, what they were doing and thinking, what they were wearing…..ok perhaps not what they were wearing but you get my drift. What this article also shows is,- simply by keeping an account, one might add to and maybe even accelerate/escalate research. Here are some more extended recordings – 9 week sleep study A Sleep Study in Cluster Headache G Della Marca Institute of Neurology, Department of Neuroscience, Catholic University. Italy A prolonged sleep study, consisting of a 9-week actigraphic recording and repeated polysomnography, with evaluation of both sleep macrostructure and microstructure. During the acute bout of the cluster we observed an irregular sleep-wake pattern and abnormalities of REM sleep. We conclude that CH was associated, in this patient, with sleep dysregulation involving the biological clock and the arousal mechanisms, particularly in REM. All these abnormalities are consistent with posterior hypothalamic dysfunction. http://cep.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/3/290 shocked

University College London and The Beckley Foundation have started an international survey in order to gather data on the benefits and the harm of drug use. http://www.internationaldrugsurvey.org shocked

"Army docs have treated cluster headaches with oxygen for years" The U.S. Army's YouTube Channel hosts video and newscasts from the U.S. Army around the world Col. Paul Little, M.D., investigates new findings that point toward high-pressure oxygen as a relief for those suffering cluster headaches. Oxygen for headaches soldiersmediacenter 28 January 2010 shocked

Not so stupid - Electrify your mind – literally by Bijal Trivedi http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025471.100-electrify-your-mind--literally.html New Scientist Magazine issue 2547. 15 April 2006 LINDA BUSTEED sits nervously as two electrodes wrapped in large, wet sponges are strapped to her head. One electrode grazes the hairline above her left eye while the other sits squarely on her right eyebrow. Wires snake over her head to a small power pack fuelled by a 9-volt battery. Busteed drums her fingers on the table as she anticipates the moment when an electric current will start flowing through her brain. It sounds like quackery, but it's not. A growing body of evidence suggests that passing a small electric current through your head can have a profound effect on the way your brain works. Called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), the technique has already been shown to boost verbal and motor skills and to improve learning and memory in healthy people - making fully-functioning brains work even better. It is also showing promise as a therapy to cure migraine ... shocked

Medical Research on Psychedelics Documentary in progress Director: Roslyn Dauber http://doc-jukebox.com/film/medicine-trailer Our documentary introduces you to a remarkable group of 21st Century medical researchers who explore the potential of the human mind with carefully screened volunteers who ingest psychedelic medicines to assess their therapeutic value. Luminaries in the field, Alexander Shulgin, Dennis McKenna, Kat Harrison, Charles Grob, Bill Richardson, Roland Griffiths, and more, contribute insights at the cutting age of neuroscience, spirituality, medicine and consciousness. Quote - "We invite you to help grow the Documentary" shocked

Cluster headache and oxygen: is it possible to predict which patients will be relieved? A retrospective cross-sectional correlation study. by: A. P. Backx, D. Y. Haane, L. De Ceuster, P. J. Koehler Department of Neurology, Atrium Medical Centre The Netherlands http://www.springerlink.com/content/nq1q7wu319017111 Published online: Journal of neurology (27 April 2010) We conclude that cluster headache patients who smoked in the past, had shorter attacks and were pain-free interictally respond best to oxygen inhalation Shocked

Thank you for your interest. More on oscillations and frequencies - Beta-oscillations in the posterior hypothalamus are associated with spontaneous cluster headache attack Nager Wido http://www.springerlink.com/content/l2313844417720u0 Journal Journal of Neurology SpringerLink May 14, 2010 And this piece is an interesting read, donÂ’t let the title put you off - Microrecordings within the posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus in pain and aggressive behaviour By Roberto Cordella A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree Doctor of Phylosophy http://www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/bitstream/10077/2573/1/RCordella%20PhD%20thesis.final-1.pdf And this one - Hypothalamic Deep Brain Stimulation in Positron Emission Tomography Department of Systems Neuroscience, University of Hamburg Arne May http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/26/13/3589 The Journal of Neuroscience, March 29, 2006 Â…..the pain of cluster headache does not arise from a primary dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve itself, but is generated directly from the brain, involving a complex neuronal network. Â…Â….it may be hypothesized that the symptoms of CH are caused by a low threshold "oscillator" that is generated by the hypothalamus and subsequently activates cortical structures of the pain-transmitting system leading to the characteristic short-lived trigemino-autonomic pain. shocked

Images of neural networks, synapses, axons, neurons, and chemical reactions that drive this incredible organ we call the brainÂ…..just sit back and enjoy the trippy ride. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd shocked

Bobb on my buddies list Proof that there are benefits to having CH Love you Bobb mate Ben

The National Headache Foundation exists to enhance the healthcare of headache sufferers. It is a source of help to sufferers' families, physicians who treat headache sufferers, allied healthcare professionals and to the public. The NHF accomplishes its mission by providing educational and informational resources, supporting headache research and advocating for the understanding of headache as a legitimate neurobiological disease. http://www.headaches.org/cms This year marks the 40th anniversary of the National Headache Foundation and this week is - National Headache Awareness Week June 6 - 12 Headache events and public education programmes have been scheduled for all of this week http://www.headaches.org/pdf/2009-2010/2010NHAWActivities.pdf On Tuesday June 8 2010 Presented by Chicago Society for The History of Medicine And The Humanities Headache Through the Ages A lecture by Seymour Diamond, M.D., Director Emeritus and Founder of the Diamond Headache Clinic, and Adjunct Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science http://www.hektoen.org/events.html “The treatment of headache has long been speculated and recorded. From the Bible to the Talmud, and the illuminated manuscripts of monks in the Middle Ages, headache treatment has been a favorite subject. Literature is replete with early and discarded theories and therapies. Dr. Diamond traces the history of the headache, an ailment that acquired recognition as early as 4000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, by the Sumarians. Egyptologists discovered a compilation of medical texts, dating to 1550 BC” Time: 5:00 - 5:30 pm, reception - 5:30 - 6:30 pm, lecture Location: 2100 W. Harrison Auditorium, 1st floor Cost: Complimentary shocked Previously by NHF - The Effects of Hallucinogens on Cluster Headaches November 18th, 2009 http://www.headaches.org/blog “New studies from Dr. John Halpern of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School reveal that the use of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin (found in a type of mushroom) have helped many people suffering from cluster headaches, widely accepted as the most painful kind of headache. Dr. Halpern and his team were inspired by the Cluster Busters, a group of cluster headache sufferers determined to find a cure for their excruciating headaches who have turned to hallucinogens because they believe it’s currently the only hope.”

What's Wrong With Me? - Music & Lyrics by Fred Sheftell, MD http://tinyurl.com/decxk3 (youtube) A song about cluster headache, its characteristics, devastating pain, and misdiagnosis. The title reflects the fact that tragically the average time to diagnose is five years! Dr. Sheftell chose a rock and roll 50's format for the song to reflect the frenetic pace of cluster attacks. Triptan du Jour - Music & Lyrics by Fred Sheftell, MD http://tinyurl.com/dyjpy3 (youtube) This song reviews the hisorical development of the triptans, all seven of the triptans by generic name and pokes a little fun at Dr. Sheftell's colleagues throughout the world who have devoted their careers to headache and have contributed so much to our knowledge base Migraine Blues - Music & Lyrics by Fred Sheftell, MD http://tinyurl.com/c8zrvu (youtube) Dr. Sheftell chose a blues format because for obvious reasons when it comes to migraine. The song reviews the characteristics of the attack, the associated disability and the search for relief. Life is for Living - Music & Lyrics by Fred Sheftell, MD http://tinyurl.com/dx5usz This song is an attempt to capture the importance of non-pharmacologic, behavioral approaches, and attitude. Dr. Sheftell always said... "I don't treat headaches. I treat people with headaches!" shocked

Cephalalgia published on May 7, 2010 The chronic variant can be found in 10–20% of all cluster headache patients. While circadian and circannual rhythmicity are characteristic of the episodic variant, little is known on chronobiology in chronic cluster headache. We report a patient with chronic cluster evolved from episodic who recorded a total of 5447 attacks over 10 years. After spectral analysis, cosinor models were calculated within the frequency ranges of 23–25 h (circadian) and 11–13 months (circannual), respectively. Significant results (P < 0.01) were found for 24-h periods, but not for circannual intervals (12 months). However, with regard to circannual periodicity, a semi-circannual rhythm (5–7 months) was suitable for curve fit and yielded significant results in the cosinor analysis at 6 months (P < 0.05). This remarkable long observation period of 10 years shows that, at least for secondary chronic cluster headache which evolved from the episodic form, a typical circadian and circannual rhythmicity comparable to that of episodic cluster headache exists http://cep.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0333102409351754v1 shocked

The relapsing-remitting course of Cluster Headache, its seasonal variation, clockwise regularity, circadian rhythmicity, low testosterone, reduced response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone, blunted nocturnal peak melatonin, complete loss of circadian rhythm and a range of other circadian irregularities implicated hypothalamic activation as key to CH generation Researchers used PET. positron emission tomography during in-vivo nitroglycerin-induced cluster attacks and conclude that “the genesis” of which is to be found in the central nervous system, in pacemaker or circadian regions of the hypothalamic grey matter.” The experiment was a great success and although it was way back in 98.it still seems to be standing the test of time. Perhaps the only “questionable” part was the “induced” attacks. Recently, Dr J. Brittain, at University of Oxford recorded neuronal activity from a “spontaneous” CH attack during a surgical implant. Dr Brittain says this supports and extends the current literature. Cluster headache is commonly stated as occurring in our third decade though it has been reported in all age groups including children. We might be safe to presume them to be “inexperienced”, without previous “head trauma” or history of “self gratification” Post-Traumatic Cluster Headache/TAC (Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgia) is said to have a prevalence ranging between 5% and 37%. It’s reported that because usually there is a long interval between the head trauma and the onset of the CH attacks, often many years after the incident, that it is difficult to make the correlation. (see the ballpoint pen x-ray!) Apparently, it seems that, one in every ten ECH’ers turns CCH. and that a third of CCH’ers turn ECH. It is also said that a “substantial” number of us, can look forward to having more PF time -the older we get. Conventions are interesting. Its great to meet up with others and you can learn a great deal. Here is a talk (not from one of our conventions but similar kind of talk) – Headache 2008 Peter J. Goadsby, MD speaking at The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Part of the Neurology / Neurosurgery Grand Rounds http://tinyurl.com/ag34o9 webcast (biocom Biomedical communications. University of Arizona October 31, 2008) Chose to watch by clicking either “windows media” or “itunes”. Hope this helps Shocked First published in, The Lancet. 1998 Jul 25 Hypothalamic activation in cluster headache attacks By; May, Bahra, Büchel, Frackowiak, Goadsby University Department of Clinical Neurology Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London Quote - “The relapsing-remitting course, its seasonal variation, and the clockwise regularity are characteristic but unexplained features of the disorder. The striking circadian rhythmicity of cluster headache has led to the suggestion of a central origin for its initiation. Substantially lowered concentrations of plasma testosterone during the cluster headache period in men provided the first evidence of hypothalamic involvement in cluster headache. This finding was further supported by a reduced response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone and a range of other circadian irregularities that have been reported in patients who have cluster headaches. Melatonin is a marker of the circadian system and a blunted nocturnal peak melatonin concentration and complete loss of circadian rhythm have been reported in patients who have cluster headache. The endogenous circadian rhythm is run by an oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nuclei in the ventral hypothalamus and reacts to temporal environmental cues of light conditions via a retino-hypothalamic pathway. The hypothalamus, or a closely related structure, is a candidate site for triggering the acute attack of cluster headache. Positron emission tomography (PET) is probably the best technique for visualising in-vivo changes in regional cerebral blood flow in human beings. This approach was therefore used to detect brain regions with increased blood flow during nitroglycerin-induced cluster attacks, focusing our interest on the hypothalamic region….. Significant activations in the acute attack compared with the headache-free state were found in the ipsilateral hypothalamic grey area, bilaterally in the anterior cingulate cortex, in the contralateral posterior thalamus, the ipsilateral basal ganglia, bilaterally in the insulae, and in the cerebellar hemispheres. Significant activation was detected next to the third ventricle slightly lateralised to the left and rostral to the aqueduct. The activation is ipsilateral to the pain side, lies in the diencephalon, and coincides with the hypothalamic grey matter. Significant activation was detected in the right frontal lobe, bilaterally in the insula, in the cerebellum/vermis and in the hypothalamic grey matter Our data establish that cluster headache, far from being a primarily vascular disorder, is a condition the genesis of which is to be found in the central nervous system in pacemaker or circadian regions of the hypothalamic grey matter.” Recently published in Cephalalgia Distinctive Neural Signature of Cluster Headache in the Hypothalamus Dr J. Brittain, Oxford Functional Neurosurgery, University of Oxford Quote – “During surgical implantation of stimulating macro-electrodes for cluster headache pain, one patient suffered a CH attack. During the attack local field potentials displayed a significant increase in power of approximately 20 Hz…this is the first recorded account of neuronal activity observed during a cluster attack. Our results both support and extend the current literature, which has long implicated hypothalamic activation as key to CH generation,..” Cluster headache (updated) By Dr. Manjit Matharu 9 Feb 2010 Institute of Neurology, London Cluster headache (updated) Clinical evidence BMJ. About this condition - Cluster headache - Neurological disorders “Onset of symptoms most commonly occurs between the second and fourth decades of life, although cluster headache has been reported in all age groups. Although there is a paucity of literature on the long-term prognosis of cluster headache, the available evidence suggests that it is a lifelong disorder in most people. In one study, episodic cluster headache (ECH) evolved into chronic cluster headache (CCH) in about 10% of people, whereas CCH transformed into ECH in one third of people. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of people with cluster headache can expect to develop longer remission periods with increasing age. There is an increased incidence of previous head trauma in cluster headache, ranging between 5% and 37%, although there is often a long interval between the head trauma and the onset of the headaches” Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias Due to Structural Lesions Irene Favier, MD, Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre Arch Neurol. 2007 http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/64/1/25 Shows a x-ray of the skull of a now 43-year-old man, showing a ballpoint pen located at the right side in the region of the cavernous sinus. The patient had been diagnosed as having episodic cluster headache 6 years previously. He reported having had an unintentional injury in his childhood: the pen had perforated his right cheek and the base of his skull during a fall. Neurosurgical intervention to remove the pen was considered impossible because of its location. A relationship between the ballpoint pen and the headache is far from certain, since the onset of the CH attacks was many years after the incident.

An in-depth analysis of psychedelic drugs in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge and on the validity of psychedelics as adjuncts to therapy, as crucial but neglected taboo medicines, and as technologies of consciousness. http://www.neuronirvana.net/oh/From_Neurons_to_Nirvana.html A PERFECT PILL : FROM NEURONS TO NIRVANA, a feature documentary in development, has already shot several interviews with the worlds foremost researchers, writers, and pioneering psychedelic psychotherapists. These radical healers and dissenters are using ancient concoctions and what were once considered the demon drugs of the 60s as essential medicines which they believe should be available for use in sanctioned treatment.[ch65279] In the last few years’ psychedelics have been given new respectability in science and in therapy. Universities in Zurich, at Harvard, at the University of California, at John Hopkins, are conducting human trials with psychedelics to treat a number of afflictions from posttraumatic stress disorder, cluster headaches, addictions, to end of life anxiety issues. The FDA, in April of 2010, has approved a phase two trial with MDMA for posttraumatic stress disorder. All of the patients in this trial will be U.S. army vets from the war in Iraq suffering from PTSD. This richly illustrated documentary is poised to tap into a phenomenon which has only recently and superficially touched the mainstream media. November 2008, CNN[ch700]s Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked of Iraq War PTSD veterans who testified to the efficacy of therapy enhanced by MDMA. A December 18, 2008 headline on a double-page spread in The Economist stated, “Ecstasy may be good for those who can’t get over something truly horrible.” Even Fox Network ran with a (misleading) headline stating that LSD might ‘extend the life of terminal ill patients’. What’s new is that the use of these drugs is not being presented as harmful or as mind candy, but as a rational and valuable addition to therapeutic practice. Critically acclaimed filmmaker Oliver Hockenhull employs state of the art HD image processing and the techniques of montage — combining fresh interviews, dynamic animations, engaging and imaginative CGI, motion graphic illustrations, brief text insertions, archival news clips, and punctuation of b roll footage — with a nod to the work of the brilliant and popular BBC documentarist Adam Curtis. The audience will be introduced to the hard science, the neurophysiology and neurochemistry of the psychedelics, the subjective experiences associated with their use, and their medical, social and spiritual significance. shocked

Bob Wold Horizons 2009 Synopsis Cluster Headache is not what you usually think of when someone says they have a headache: the pain will wake you up out of your sleep and is so searing painful that people are known to pull out their hair or bang their head against the wall to distract themselves from this pain. Indeed, cluster has been nicknamed “suicide headaches.” You will leave this talk knowing a lot more about cluster headache and the story of how patients just like me came to find in psilocybin and LSD a profound medication that helps more than the medicines we currently can get from our physicians. Clusterbusters is doing something about that: we work closely with Dr. John Halpern of McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School and are, in fact, sponsoring Dr. Halpern’s clinical project to evaluate psilocybin for people with episodic cluster headache. To bring research with psilocybin to Harvard has been a long and complicated road, but you will learn why it is the most important one to take: many lives depend on it and we want to count on your support. Over the past year, our work has expanded to include the addition of a new and very exciting direct offshoot of our psilocybin work. This successful study featuring breakthough treatment results will be announced at this conference Biography Bob Wold is founder and President of Clusterbusters, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the research of cluster headache and to support people with cluster headache and their families. Based in greater Chicago with his wife and 4 children, Mr. Wold has talked to 1000s of cluster sufferers. In fact, over 25 years of his adult life was burdened with severe cluster headache that was resistant to all standard treatments. That all changed after he tried psilocybin, which has helped regain control over this illness for him… and now hundreds to perhaps thousands of other cluster headache patients all over the world. He and Clusterbusters are currently involved in persuing the approvals for the clinical research required to allow these much needed treatments to become available to everyone. Treatments that far exceed anything currently available through conventional medicine. Treatments that can eliminate the suicide option that far too many people still choose. shocked

It's back on youtube Part 1 and 2 here - Part 3 arriving soon shocked

Thanks Bob mate, I’ve got a hard copy Shocked Previously in Playboy - Blood, sweat and serotonin: the master chemist of the psychedelic movement and his 40-year battle with the government By Mark Boal PLAYBOY March 2004 THE AGONY & ECSTASY OF ALEXANDER SHULGIN Full article here – http://tinyurl.com/4o54sv (maps) Quote - “…….A few years ago, on an invitation from Dr. John Halpern, an associate director of Harvard's Biological Psychiatry Laboratory and one of a handful of doctors who believe that psychedelic medicine has a promising future, Shulgin gave a lecture to the psychiatry faculty. "It was a disaster," Halpern recalls. "He told this droll story about some doctor he gave psychedelics to, and you saw the residents in the audience turn white. But the older doctors in the front row, the dinosaurs of psychiatry who remember the 1950s, they were on the edge of their seats, lapping it up." Almost as fast as he can create them, Shulgin's inventions have been declared illegal in America and around the world. Still, he takes the long view of history and believes that, in the end, the plasticity and variety of psychedelics will spark a new science of the mind. "I don't think it will be from one of the current drugs," he says. "Twenty, 50 years from now some kid will look at all of them and see an interesting thread in the pattern, and something will come from that. It's like the invention of the wheel; you need the wheels and the axle to make a horse and buggy, and then down the line someone makes a sports car." "The idea of developing Sasha's stuff into medicines is a daunting task," says Dr. Halpern. "It would take years and about a hundred million dollars to do the clinical studies on just one of his drugs, and he has hundreds of them. We don't even have all the answers for LSD, let alone his stuff. So I think it will be decades before his work is really even looked at, maybe longer."” shocked

Preview: Amazing Spider-Man #627 http://www.comixology.com/previews/JAN100557/0 (7 page story) Description When a pounding Spider-Sense headache leads Spider-Man to the comatose body of his biggest, toughest foe, he realizes that something -- or someone -- can indeed stop the Juggernaut! But who? How? And who are they coming for next? Can Spider-Man find out before it's too late? And will Peter Parker ever get to have dinner with Carlie Cooper? Roger Stern and Lee Weeks (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #580) return to unravel the mystery in the first part of the Spider-Man/Juggernaut Trilogy. shocked

Psychedelic Salon Podcast Podcast 156 – “Treating Childhood Schizophrenia with Psychedelics” Guest speakers: Gary Fisher and Charlie Grob September 10th, 2008 In 1963, Dr. Gary Fisher wrote a paper titled An Investigation to Determine Therapeutic Effectiveness of LSD-25 and Psilocybin on Hospitalized Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=697 We have given treatment to 12 patients. They have ranged in age from 4 years, 10 months to 12 years, 11 months. The average age is 9 years, 10 months. All patients are severely emotionally disturbed and are considered variants of childhood schizophrenia and infantile autism. Nine Children are considered to be childhood schizophrenics, one case of symbiotic, infantile psychosis and one case of manic-depressive psychosis. shocked