title: Migraine preventive treatment.
abstract: Migraine is a chronic neurological disease. Preventive therapy is given in an attempt to reduce the frequency, duration, or severity of attacks. Circumstances that might warrant preventive treatment include recurring migraine attacks that significantly interfere with the patient's daily routines, despite appropriate acute treatment; frequent headaches; contraindication to, failure of, overuse of, or intolerance to acute therapies; patient preference; frequent, very long, or uncomfortable auras; and presence of uncommon migraine conditions. The major medication groups for preventive migraine treatment include beta-adrenergic blockers, antidepressants, calcium channel antagonists, serotonin antagonists, and anticonvulsants. The choice of preventive treatment depends on the individual drug's efficacy and adverse events, the patient's clinical features, frequency, and response to prior treatment, and the presence of any comorbid or coexistent disease.
authors.affiliation: Jefferson Headache Center, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. Stephen.Silberstein@Jefferson.edu
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Silberstein
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers