Migraine Symptoms Helped by Combination Drug Therapy

A combination drug taken within an hour after the start of a migraine may help alleviate its symptoms, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, have found.

The combination includes sumatriptan - a migraine-specific drug that affects the constriction of blood vessels, with naproxen sodium - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that works on the inflammatory aspect of migraine and relieves non-traditional migraine symptoms such as sinus pain and pressure and neck pain.

"Unfortunately, many migraine sufferers put off treatment," said study author Stephen Silberstein, MD, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

"This study provides more evidence that treating a migraine at the first sign of pain increases the likelihood of relief," he added.

Researchers conducted two studies with a total of 1,111 people with migraine who had experienced two to six attacks per month in the three months before the study started.

Half of the people were given the sumatriptan/naproxen drug within an hour after migraine pain started and while the pain was still mild; the other half were given a placebo.

Researchers found that two hours after the dose was given, about 50 percent of those who received the drug were free of any pain, compared to about 16 percent of those who got the placebo.

The people who took the placebo were also two to three times more likely to progress to moderate or severe pain over four hours than those who took the drug.