Elvis & LSD? No, DHE for Migraine!

With the assistance of Marvin Robinstien, Development Officer of the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee, MAGNUM was able identify who in the Memphis medical community should be contacted to discuss the facts regarding Mr. Presley's Migraines. Mr. Coleman, armed with various observations, past press leaks, and public record facts (such as Mr. Presley's October and November 1973 Hospital stays for "headache and mild hypertension," his 1975 hospital stay for "extensive eye exam" which was later discovered to be for migraine aura problems, and physicians' reports from both the Baptist Hospital and the Mid-South Hospital regarding Mr. Presley's eye problems, i.e., aura, sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, pain, slurred speech, and other Migrainous traits) began digging for the facts to support the existence of Elvis' Migraines.

MAGNUM Executive Director Michael John Coleman conducted an extensive interview with the kind and articulate Dr. George Nichopoulos, Elvis Presley's personal physician, during which was discussed Elvis' seemingly Migraine-related behavior. Discussed, among other things, were public records and accounts of Elvis' life, including a Washington, D.C. radio broadcast which talked about leaked information from Elvis' autopsy, including certain drugs found in the singer's bloodstream such as Demerol, Propranolol, LSD, and antiemetics. The primary indicator that Elvis had Migraines gleaned from these public reports was that the very drugs found in Elvis' system at the time of the autopsy were used in the 70's to treat anyone under good prudent care for intractable Migraine. MAGNUM raised the subject of the autopsy drug information during the interview and noted that the best and only abortive drug family available in the 1970's to treat Migraine was the prescription ergotamine drug family. This is important because ergotamine most often tests as LSD, as ergot alkaloid is structurally related to the potent hallucinogen LSD. In addition, Propranolol, Demerol, and antiemetics were all common medications used to treat Migraine. Accordingly, Dr. Nichopoulos confirmed to MAGNUM that Mr. Presley was indeed treated for reoccurring and debilitating Migraines. DHE45, an ergotamine derivative, was Elvis' primary abortive Migraine regimen. However, unfortunately for Elvis, DHE45 can only be used a limited number of times a month, thereby requiring Elvis to depend upon more conventional pain management therapies such as analgesics and narcotics to treat his other debilitating Migraine attacks. (Although DHE injection has been used for many years in the effective treatment of Migraine, it is now considered more appropriate for treating the most severe cases since less toxic agents are currently available such as a more refined DHE Nasal spray under the name of Migranal®.) MAGNUM also noted that the press concluded that Elvis suffered from hypertension problems based upon the presence of Propranolol, a common hypertension prescription drug, in his blood. However, Propranolol is also approved by the FDA for use as a Migraine prophylactic treatment, which Dr. Nichopoulos confirmed Elvis was undergoing.

There was a time in this country when Migraine was thought by many in the medical community to be a psychosomatic illness. If it were not for the dedicated commitment over the past two decades of more enlightened physicians who understood that Migraine is an organic neurological disease, we wouldn't have the care and treatment now available to Migraine sufferers. Better understanding of Migraine continues to be advanced by such pioneers as Drs. Keith Campbell, Seymour Diamond, Merle Diamond, Nabih Ramadan, Joel Saper, Fred Sheftell, and Stephen Silberstein. Better understanding of Migraine disease is also being underscored more often in the press, for example, in the cover story run in the FDA Consumer Magazine last May. That article pointed out that, according to the American Medical Association, Migraine is a neurological disorder, not a psychological disorder.

No dedicated medical test for Migraine currently exists, so proper diagnosis and treatment of Migraine remains critical. According to MAGNUM's Legislative Director, Terri Miller Burchfield, the overall best approach to Migraine treatment and management is what MAGNUM calls a MULTIFACTORIAL approach to Migraine treatment: this approach involves addressing all four aspects of Migraine health care, namely, preventive treatment, trigger management, abortive treatment, and general pain management. In addition to proper treatment of Migraine, knowledge about Migraine and other disease awareness activities are potent weapons in the fight improve the quality of life of Migraineurs, Ms. Burchfield went on to say.

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