Drugs for preventing migraine headaches in children
This systematic review evaluated studies of drug treatments for preventing migraine headaches in children. Twenty randomised controlled trials were included. Two studies showed a beneficial effect on the primary outcome measure, headache frequency. These were trials of the drugs propranolol and flun...
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| Published in: | Cochrane database of systematic reviews 2014-07, Vol.2014 (7) |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | This systematic review evaluated studies of drug treatments for preventing migraine headaches in children. Twenty randomised controlled trials were included. Two studies showed a beneficial effect on the primary outcome measure, headache frequency. These were trials of the drugs propranolol and flunarizine. Nimodipine, timolol, papaverine, pizotifen, trazodone, L‐5‐hydroxytryptophan (L‐5HTP), clonidine, metoclopramide, and domperidone showed no efficacy in reduction of frequency of attacks. Available studies on other commonly used drugs failed to meet our inclusion criteria. The quality of evidence available for the use of drug prophylaxis in paediatric migraine is poor. Studies have generally been small, with no planning of sample size, so that for many drugs, despite the negative findings of this review, we do not have conclusive evidence of 'no effect'. More research is needed on this important topic. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-493X |