title: The effect of sodium valproate on chronic daily headache and its subgroups.
abstract: The objective of the study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of sodium valproate (VPA) on chronic daily headache (CDH) in a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Seventy patients were included in the study. Twenty-nine had chronic migraine (CM) and 41 had chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). VPA and placebo were applied for 3 months to 40 and 30 patients, respectively. Visual analog scale (VAS) and pain frequency (PF) were used for evaluation. VPA decreased the maximum pain VAS levels (MaxVAS) and PF at the end of the study (P = 0.028 and P = 0.000, respectively), but did not change general pain VAS (GnVAS) levels (P = 0.198). In CM patients, the decreases in MaxVAS, GnVAS and PF parameters were more in VPA treated patients (P = 0.006, P = 0.03, and P = 0.000, respectively). VPA treatment caused more reduction in PF than placebo in the CTTH subgroup (P = 0.000). VPA is effective in the prophylactic treatment of CDH by reducing MaxVAS levels and PF. It was more effective in CM than in CTTH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Suleyman Demirel University, 32260 Isparta, Turkey. vedatyurekli@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Vedat Ali
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Yurekli
authors.forename: Galip
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Akhan
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kutluhan
authors.forename: Ertugrul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uzar
authors.forename: Hasan Rifat
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Koyuncuoglu
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gultekin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D020773:Headache Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010919:Placebos; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects; D018781:Tension-Type Headache / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D010919:Placebos; D014635:Valproic Acid