An open pilot study assessing the benefits of quetiapine for the prevention of migraine refractory to the combination of atenolol, nortriptyline, and flunarizine.
BACKGROUND
Migraine is a prevalent neurological disorder. Although prevention is the core of treatment for most, some patients are refractory to standard therapies. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the use of Quetiapine (QTP) in the preventive treatment of refractory migraine, defined as previous unresponsiveness to the combination of atenolol, nortriptyline, and flunarizine.


METHODS
Thirty-four consecutive patients (30 women and 4 men) with migraine (ICHD-II), fewer than 15 days of headache per month, and not overusing symptomatic medications were studied. All participants had failed to the combination of atenolol (60 mg/day), nortriptyline (25 mg/day), and flunarizine (3 mg/day). Failure was defined as <50% reduction in attack frequency after 10 weeks of treatment. After other medications were discontinued, QTP was initiated at a single daily dose of 25 mg, and then titrated to 75 mg. After 10 weeks, headache frequency, consumption of rescue medications, and adverse events were analyzed.


RESULTS
Twenty-nine patients completed the study. Three patients withdrew and two were lost to follow-up. Among those who completed, 22 (75.9%; 64.7% of the intention-to-treat population) had greater than 50% headache reduction. The mean frequency of migraine days decreased from 10.2 to 6.2 per month. Use of rescue medications decreased from 2.3 to 1.2 days/week. Adverse events were reported by nine (31%) patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Although limited by the open design, this study provides pilot data to support the use of QTP in the preventive treatment of refractory migraine. Controlled studies are necessary to confirm these observations.
Krymchantowski
Abouch V
AV
Headache Center of Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. abouchkrym@uol.com.br
Jevoux
Carla
C
Moreira
Pedro Ferreira
PF
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001262:Atenolol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005444:Flunarizine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009661:Nortriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D001262:Atenolol; D009661:Nortriptyline; D005444:Flunarizine