Ergots. Ergot extracts have been used for the treatment of acute headache since the late 1800s 5 and ergotamine tartrate (ET) was used in the early 20th century for obstetric purposes as a uterotonic agent.

Ergotamine. Ekbom first reported the use of ergotamine tartrate for the prophylactic treatment of cluster headache in 1947. 115 Sixteen patients were given ergotamine at a dose of 2 to 3 mg/day for 1 to 4 weeks, and 13 patients experienced considerable improvement.

Ergotamine Derivates. Ergotamine has lost its popularity with the introduction of sumatriptan. Ergotamine is useful in recurrent and predictable attacks, when it can be used as a targeted prophylaxis.

Ergotamine is one of several peptide alkaloids isolated from ergot, a product of the parasitic fungus Claviceps purpurea infecting rye and other cereal grains, which caused outbreaks of ergotism during the Middle Ages and even as recently as the 20 th century.