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Botox may help reduce 'eye-popping' migraine headaches | Botulinum toxin type A (Botox), the drug that can temporarily erase wrinkles, may also help reduce frequency of migraine headaches that are described as crushing,
vicelike or eye-popping, a preliminary study suggests. The study has been published in the February issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Researchers conducting clinical trials on botulinum toxin type A to treat facial
lines recognized a correlation between injections and the alleviation of migraine
symptoms. "The initial promise of a new prophylactic [preventive] therapy for
migraines was met by the challenge of replication of these results," as subsequent
studies have failed to demonstrate botulinum was more effective than placebo,
the authors write. "Researchers have searched for patient characteristics that
may predict a favorable treatment response." Christine C. Kim, M.D., then of SkinCare
Physicians, Chestnut Hill, Mass., and now in private practice in Encino, Calif.,
and colleagues studied 18 patients (average age 50.9) who had already received
or were planning to receive botulinum injections for cosmetic purposes but also
reported having migraines. Of those, 10 reported imploding headaches-described
by adjectives like crushing and vice-like-or ocular headaches, reported to feel
like an eye is popping out or that someone is pushing a finger into an eye. Nine
patients had exploding headaches, described as feeling like one's head is going
to explode or split, or that pressure is building up. Some patients had more than
one type. Three months after treatment, 13 patients had responded to the treatment
with a reduction in migraine pain, including 10 who had imploding or ocular headaches
and three who had exploding headaches. All six of the patients who did not respond
had exploding headaches. Among all participants who responded to treatment, migraine
frequency was reduced from an average of 6.8 days per month to an average of 0.7
days per month. Patients with exploding headaches experienced an average reduction
in migraine frequency of 11.4 to 9.4 days per month, whereas frequency in participants
with imploding or ocular headaches reduced from an average of 7.1 days per month
to 0.6 days per month. Botulinum produces muscle paralysis, but this alone does
not explain how it may prevent migraine pain, the authors note. Research indicates
that it may affect the way pain signals travel through the nervous system, block
pain receptors or reduce inflammation. "These preliminary data are intriguing,
and our results provide support for the hypothesis that patients with migraine
that is characterized by imploding and ocular headaches are more responsive to
botulinum toxin type A than those with migraine characterized by exploding headaches,"
the authors write. "Our findings invite consideration of using botulinum toxin
type A injections to prevent migraine headaches and may promote the role of the
dermatologist in the treatment of patients with migraine. However, well-controlled
trials need to be conducted to confirm these findings." |
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