Acupuncture compares favourably with the drug topiramate for reducing migraine frequency, according to Taiwanese investigators. Sixty-six chronic migraine (CM) patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups. The acupuncture group received 24 acupuncture sessions over 12 weeks, while the topiramate group received a four-week titrated dose of topiramate (25-100 mg/day) followed by an eight-week maintenance period at a dose of 100 mg/day. A significantly larger decrease in the mean monthly number of moderate to severe headache days (20.2 days to 9.8 days) was observed in the acupuncture group (compared with 19.8 to 12.0 days in the topiramate group). Significant differences favouring acupuncture were also observed for all secondary variables. Adverse events were reported in 66% of the topiramate group, compared with only 6% in the acupuncture group. (Acupuncture versus topiramate in chronic migraine prophylaxis: a randomized clinical trial. Cephalalgia. 2011 Nov;31(15):1510-21).
Categories: Headache migraine
