title: Systematic review and meta-analysis of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of migraines.
abstract: Migraine is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent moderate to severe headaches often in association with a number of autonomic nervous system symptoms. It is a common disease and incidence has increased yearly. Chinese medical treatments are popularly used in Asian countries, although they vary in effectiveness. In this study, we applied a systematic review method and combined meta-regression with meta-subgroup analysis to explore heterogeneity of clinical therapeutic efficacy upon meta-analysis of randomized controlled Chinese medical treatments for migraine. We also aimed to provide a more effective Chinese prescription and to advance the knowledge in evaluating validity of preventing or alleviating migraine symptoms with Chinese medical treatments. Twenty randomized migraine control trails, including 2246 patients, were collected from online databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL of Cochrane Library, CBM, integrated version of CMCI/CMCC, TCM online, CDFD, and CMFD from January 2000 to December 2011. The results showed that the major factors influencing therapeutic efficacy were either the specific medicine form of or its prescription type (p < 0.05). The use of TCM decoctions, especially those that condition the viscera, treat from the perspective of "wind", and target the Shaoyang gateway, could be the best migraine treatment in clinical TCM practice (RR > 1.30).
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Statistics, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Pinyi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yanqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yazhou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Dixiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Wenquan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Julia Christine
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pettigrew
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yi
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index