Abstract
In a recent paper, Karst et al. describe promising results of the non-hallucinogen 2-bromo-lysergic acid diethylamide (BOL-148) in the prevention of cluster headache in an open study (1). They review the old literature on the lacking hallucinogenic effect of BOL-148 back to 1957 (1). One important reference (2) from 1958 is, however, missing. It is a case study describing how a 28-year-old worker in the laboratory of Harold G. Wolff took BOL-148 0.5 mg for a “pounding” vascular headache. This resulted in a LSD-like delirium for at least seven hours (2). It was published in Annals of Internal Medicine and the reference (2) to it is easily found on PubMed.
Wolff’s group concluded, “from these observations it is clear that BOL-148 in relatively small amount produced a delirious reaction similar in almost all respects to that of LSD” (2). This paper should be included in the overall judgement of BOL-148.