title: A randomized, double blind study of the prophylactic effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on migraine.
abstract: In a double blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the prophylactic effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on migraine, 40 patients were randomly assigned to a treatment group receiving three sessions of hyperbaric oxygen, or a control group receiving three hyperbaric air treatments. The patients were instructed to keep a standardized migraine diary for eight weeks before and after the treatment. Thirty-four patients completed the study. Our primary measure of efficacy was the difference between pre- and post-treatment hours of headache per week. The results show a nonsignificant reduction in hours of headache for the hyperbaric oxygen group compared to the control group. Levels of endothelin-1 in venous blood before and after treatment did not reveal any difference between the hyperbaric oxygen and control groups. We conclude that the tested protocol does not show a significant prophylactic effect on migraine and does not influence the level of endothelin-1 in venous blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Circulation and Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Eftedal
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lydersen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Helde
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Brubakk
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Stovner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1