Pharmacy Daily | Undertreated migraines

MIGRAINES are underrecognised and undertreated, according new American guidelines published in the journal Neurology. According to the guidelines around 38% of migraine sufferers could benefit from preventive treatments, but less than a third currently use them. “Some studies show that migraine attacks can be reduced by more than half with preventive treatments,” said guideline author Dr Stephen Silberstein, Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University. The guidelines were developed after reviewing all available evidence on migraine prevention, as well as over-the-counter treatments and complementary treatments. According to the American guidelines, the seizure drugs: divalproex sodium, sodium valproate and topiramate, as well as beta-blockers: metoprolol, propranolol and timolol, are effective for migraine prevention and should be offered to people with migraine to reduce the frequency and severity of attacks, whilst the seizure drug lamotrigine was found to be ineffective in preventing migraine. In the OTC and complementary stakes, the herbal drug Petasites, (also known as butterbur) was shown to be effective in preventing migraine, whilst other treatments that were found to be “probably effective” were the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs fenoprofen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen and naproxen sodium, subcutaneous histamine and complementary treatments magnesium, MIG-99 (feverfew) and riboflavin.

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