Researchers in Tennessee say an antiepileptic drug could prevent migraine headaches and reduce the medication needed for treatment.
The study is published in Wednesday's issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers from the Nashville Neuroscience Group evaluated the effectiveness and safety of the drug, topiramate, for migraine prevention during a 26-week study conducted at 52 North American medical centers.
The researchers separated 483 patients at random into four treatment groups. One group was given a placebo, and the three other groups were given varying amounts of topiramate.
After some patients dropped out of the study due to side effects, 468 people -- 87 percent of whom were women -- comprised the remaining group. The side effects of the drug included paresthesia (tingling sensations), fatigue and nausea, according to the researchers.
The researchers found that the two groups who received the 100 and 200 milligram-per-day doses had a significant reduction in migraines per month. They also found that those patients were able to reduce the amount of medication -- including aspirin, acetaminophen, triptans and opioids -- used to treat their headaches or migraines.
About 11 percent of the U.S. population experiences migraines and the prevalence is thought to be about the same in other industrialized countries, the researchers said.
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