A front-page story mentioning OPIS in the widely circulated Swiss daily paper 20 Minutes on 26 August 2022 features Juan-Pablo, a patient suffering from the extremely painful neurological disorder SUNCT. The story describes how ayahuasca saved his life when other treatments had failed and he had already attempted suicide. OPIS provided advice and support to Juan-Pablo, and we contacted a journalist who wrote this powerful story, accompanied by a video interview with Juan-Pablo.
Ayahuasca, whose active component is DMT, is known for its deep psychological effects and ability to help heal from trauma, but its usefulness for treating an agonising disorder like SUNCT is relatively new territory. We publicised this case to raise the possibility of using ayahuasca as a medical treatment for SUNCT and possibly cluster headaches, and more generally, to call attention to the obstacles represented by current drug laws and help destigmatise the valid medical use of such substances.
The original print version of the article and an English translation of the on-line version are available here.