title: Two studies of the non-pharmacological treatment of menstrually-related migraine headaches.
abstract: In order to evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological treatment on menstrual and non-menstrual migraine headache (HA), 2 studies have been conducted. In Study 1 which was a retrospective examination of between group reactions to non-drug treatments, 37 self-defined menstrual migraineurs and 62 non-menstrual migraineurs showed comparable overall improvement (reduction in HA activity) after treatment, but menstrual migraineurs maintained larger usage of medication across time than non-menstrual migraineurs. In Study 2 which was a prospective examination of within subject reactions to non-drug treatments, 15 carefully documented menstrual migraineurs again showed comparable levels of overall improvement but also showed that level of menstrual headache activity remained higher across time than non-menstrual migraine HA. Because there were no interactions of time and type of migraine in either study, these results raise some questions about the existence of differential effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatment of menstrual vs non-menstrual migraine.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York, Albany 12203.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Blanchard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D008598:Menstruation; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies