Systematic Review of Preventive and Acute Treatment of Menstrual Migraine.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this systematic review is to identify the efficacy of different categories of treatments for menstrual migraines as found in randomized controlled trials or open label studies with similar efficacy endpoints.


BACKGROUND
Menstrual migraine is very common and approximately 50% of women have increased risk of developing migraines related to the menstrual cycle. Attacks of menstrual migraine are usually more debilitating, of longer duration, more prone to recurrence, and less responsive to acute treatment than nonmenstrual migraine attacks.


METHODS
Search for evidence was done in 4 databases that included PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, and Web of Science. Eighty-four articles were selected for full text review by 2 separate readers. Thirty-six of the 84 articles were selected for final inclusion. Articles included randomized controlled and open label trials that focused on efficacy of acute and preventative therapies for menstrual migraine. Secondary analyses where excluded because the initial study population was not women with menstrual migraine.


RESULTS
After final screening, 11 articles were selected for acute and 25 for preventive treatment of menstrual migraine. These were further subdivided into treatment categories. For acute treatment: triptans, combination therapy, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, and ergot alkaloids. For preventive treatment: triptans, combined therapy, oral contraceptives, estrogen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, phytoestrogen, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, dopamine agonist, vitamin, mineral, and nonpharmacological therapy were selected. Overall, triptans had strong evidence for treatment in both acute and short term prevention of menstrual migraine.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on this literature search, of all categories of treatment for menstrual migraine, triptans have the most extensive research with strong evidence for both acute and preventive treatment of menstrual migraine. Further randomized controlled trials should be performed for other therapies to strengthen their use in the care of menstrual migraine patients.
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Hida Del C
Hdel C
Nierenburg
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Jessica
J
Ailani
Dalghren Library, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
Michele
M
Malloy
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Sara
S
Siavoshi
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Nancy N
NN
Hu
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Nadia
N
Yusuf
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*
acute treatment; menstrual migraine; menstrually related migraine; oral contraceptive; preventive treatment; systematic review; triptan