Epilepsy Drug Doesn't Prevent Migraines

The epilepsy drug oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) does not seem to prevent migraines, as once thought, a new study finds.

Migraines affect more than 28 million Americans, and certain epilepsy drugs have been shown to be effective in preventing these severe headaches. For this reason, many assumed that oxcarbazepine would also work against migraines.

The report appears in the Feb. 12 issue of Neurology.

The three epilepsy drugs that have been shown to prevent migraines, topiramate, divalproex and gabapentin, do so through several mechanisms. One mechanism is the regulation of the neurotransmitter called GABA. However, oxcarbazepine appears not to affect GABA activity. It is possible that epilepsy drugs need to regulate GABA to prevent migraine, Silberstein noted.

Another expert agreed that this drug is not likely to prevent migraine.

For more information, visit mymigraineconnection.com

Drug doesn't help prevent migraine after all: study

Contrary to some reports, the anti-epilepsy drug oxcarbazepine does not appear to prevent migraine headaches, new research suggests.

Anti-epilepsy drugs have been used for the prevention of migraine, Dr. Stephen Silberstein of the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia, and associates note in the journal Neurology -- and reports have suggested that oxcarbazepine would be effective as well.

In a study lasting almost five months, the investigators randomly assigned 170 men and women with a history of migraine to a daily dose of oxcarbazepine or inactive placebo. Both groups included people who had three to nine migraine attacks within a month.

Results showed no difference between the oxcarbazepine and placebo groups in the change in the number of migraine attacks from the beginning to the end of the study.

Similarly, the severity of migraine attacks and the amount of acute rescue medication required was not affected by treatment allocation.

For more information, visit Mymigraineconnection.com