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New Treatment May Bring Relief to Migraine Sufferers

Posted on: Friday, 31 December 2004, 09:00 CST

A popular cosmetic treatment to prevent wrinkles could also help migraine sufferers who have to take time off work. Researchers believe that treating migraine sufferers with a mixture of Botox injections and surgery can significantly reduce time off sick by as much as three-quarters.

And it is claimed the combination treatment can help people with migraine reclaim their lives.

But some experts have warned that pinning hopes on Botox could be misplaced as most research into the merits of the treatment on migraine has been unfounded.

About 100 patients taking part in a US study were injected with Botox to find out which muscles in the forehead or back of the head triggered their migraines.

Then the offending muscles were surgically removed in efforts to relieve the pain of severe migraine.

Now the researchers, writing in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, have revealed that the surgery reduced the frequency, intensity and duration of migraines for 92% of the patients studied.

In addition the surgery was said to have eliminated migraines in 35% of patients.

The researchers, led by Bahman Guyuron, also revealed that prior to surgery the migraine sufferers missed on average 4.4 days of work each month.

However after surgery the patients missed just 1.2 days per month - a reduction of 73%.

The treatment also reduced the annual cost of migraine care for the patients from around pounds 3,900 to pounds 480.

Researchers have been carrying out trials using just Botox injections to treat migraine, but results have so far been inconclusive.

Botox, a toxin used to smooth out wrinkles and lines around the face by temporarily paralysing the muscle underneath the skin, is not currently licensed for the treatment of headaches in the UK.

Dr Guyuron, of the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said, 'The economic impact of migraine headaches on businesses is staggering due to the loss of employee time.

'By identifying the trigger areas for migraines and performing targeted surgical procedures, we significantly reduced or eliminated their migraines and the amount of time missed from work.'

Some six million people in the UK are estimated to be affected by migraine.Women are more likely to suffer, with one in four affected, compared to one in 12 men.

Alan Bartle, chief executive of the Migraine Trust, said new approaches to reduce the impact of migraine attacks were welcomed.

He said, 'This study would seem to indicate that for a defined sub-group of patients with migraine this may be an approach worth considering following proper diagnosis and after other treatment options have been tried.'

But Mr Bartle said other studies into the use of Botox injections had so far proved inconclusive.

'This latest study is a further procedure, which is invasive and does show some side effects,' he said.: Neurological condition:Migraine is the most common neurological condition in the developed world and affects 10% of the UK population. It is more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined. Migraine can be a debilitating condition which has an impact on the quality of life of sufferers and their families. Attacks can be completely disabling, forcing the sufferer to abandon everyday activities for up to three days. Even in symptom-free periods, sufferers may live in fear of the next attack. A migraine itself often involves and intense throbbing headache, often on one side of the head only, nausea or vomiting, increased sensitivity to light, sounds and smell.

Source: Western Mail

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