Aspirin good for migraine
Wednesday April 14th, 2010
Aspirin may help many migraine sufferers, researchers report today.
Migraines are severe headaches which can cause nausea, vomiting and light sensitivity, and may last up to 72 hours. About 18 per cent of women and six per cent of men are regular sufferers.
The new
analysis says more than half may benefit from using aspirin.
Dr Andrew Moore of the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK, and colleagues say that many patients choose to use only over the counter medicines, but "good reviews of the evidence have been lacking". The team reviewed 13 studies involving 4,222 participants.
They found a single dose of 900-1,000mg aspirin plus 10mg of the anti-sickness drug metoclopramide "substantially reduced migraine headache pain within two hours, for more than half of people who take it".
In their Cochrane Review, they report that this treatment also reduced nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound (photophobia or phonophobia).
This single aspirin dose reduced "moderate or severe pain" to "no pain" in 25 per cent of people, and to "mild pain" in 52 per cent, within two hours.
When taken with metoclopramide, it was particularly effective at reducing nausea and vomiting.
Side-effects were generally mild and short-lived. The combination of drugs was found to be as good as 50mg of the headache treatment sumatriptan, but not quite as effective as 100mg sumatriptan.
Dr Moore said: "Aspirin plus metoclopramide will be a reasonable therapy for acute migraine attacks, but for many it will be insufficiently effective. We are presently working on reviews of other over the counter medicines for migraines, to provide consumers with the best available evidence on treatments that don't need a prescription."
Kirthi, V. et al. Aspirin with or without an antiemetic for acute migraine headaches in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 4. Art. No. CD008041.
Tags: Brain & Neurology | Pain Relief | Pharmaceuticals | UK News
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