Study: Botox Eases Migraine Pain

Adding to the mounting evidence that Botox isn’t just for wrinkles, a new study shows the drug works for migraine headaches.

A new study — funded by Botox maker Allergan — found that the company’s injectable cosmetic treatment (botulinum toxin type A) significantly reduced the number of days each month that migraine patients experience attacks of the condition.

The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved Botox to treat migraine headache.

In study patients treated with the anti-wrinkle drug, migraine days declined by nearly a third, or almost 27 percent, compared to placebo patients, who saw a 6 percent increase in migraine days.

This new data adds to previous findings suggesting that Botox can be efficacious in reducing the frequency of headache episodes in migraine patients who suffer from frequent headaches, said Frederick Freitag, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, Ill. and lead investigator of the study.

The results will be presented June 23 at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Los Angeles, Calif.

According to the study authors, migraine headache — a progressive and disabling condition marked by flareups lasting up to 15 days each month — affects about seven million, or 2.4 percent of the general population.