St. Anthony's fire, then and now: a case report and historical review

Abstract

A rare case of morbid vasospasm, together with striking angiographic findings, is described secondary to the ingestion of methysergide by a 48-year-old woman. A brief review of the literature on similar cases is presented. A discussion of the history of ergot includes its original discovery, the epidemics of gangrene that it has caused through the ages and its past and present role in the management of migraine headache. Despite the advent of calcium channel blockers and beta-adrenergic antagonists, ergot preparations continue to play a major role in migraine therapy, so that the danger of St. Anthony's fire persists.