everal medications successfully treat an active migraine. But a review of the medical literature from Boston Children’s Hospital finds only weak evidence that drug treatment prevents migraine in children and adolescents. Only two medications — topiramate and propranolol — showed any difference in preventing migraine in this age group compared with a placebo.
The authors reviewed 23 clinical studies of medications used for migraine prevention in children and adolescents. Altogether, nearly 1,700 patients received an active drug, while about 520 patients received a placebo. Very few trials found a difference in migraine prevention between drug and placebo. The review was published in a paper in JAMA Pediatrics.
In this Q&A, co-first author of the paper, Joe Kossowsky, PhD, MMSC, of the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine at Boston Children’s, discusses highlights of the study.
