Non-randomised trial, 2010
Does taking eletriptan around the time of menstruation prevent menstrual migraines?
Yes, for most women. Taking eletriptan around menstruation reduced migraine activity by 46% overall. About 53% of women had all three of their menstrual periods completely migraine-free during treatment.
What they did
Women with suspected menstrually-related migraine kept headache diaries for 3 months to confirm diagnosis. Confirmed women (n=61) took eletriptan 20 mg three times daily for 6 days around menstruation in this open-label trial. Headache activity before and during treatment was compared.
What they found
Of 126 women enrolled, 74% were confirmed to have menstrually-related migraine. During treatment, 61 completed at least one month. Overall headache activity decreased by 46%. During the 6-day treatment period, 71% of treated menstrual cycles had no migraine. For complete success (no migraines 2 days before through first 3 days of menstruation), 53% achieved this all 3 months, 19% for 2 months, and 14% for 1 month. After stopping, 9% had migraines in the following 3 days.
What it means for you
For women whose migraines clearly occur around menstruation, preventive eletriptan can be very effective, with more than half achieving completely migraine-free periods. Some migraines return after stopping medication. The study lacks a placebo comparison group, so some benefit could be from expectation. Only women believing their migraines were menstrually-related were included.
74%
Confirmed menstrually-related migraine
46%
Overall decrease in headache activity
53%
Women migraine-free all 3 treatment months
About the study
- Original title
- Perimenstrual eletriptan prevents menstrual migraine: an open-label study
- Authors
- Marcus DA, Bernstein CD, Sullivan EA et al.
- Journal
- Headache
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- Participants
- 126
- What was tested
- Eletriptan 20 mg three times daily, starting 2 days before menstruation for 6 days, for 3 months.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01628.x
Topics
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