title: Propofol in the treatment of refractory migraine headaches.
abstract: Refractory/intractable migraine headaches are associated with chronic pain that does not respond to standard care of treatment. Propofol(2,6-diisopropylphenol) in sub-anesthetic doses has been reported to be beneficial in such patients. The present article describes the complete drug profile of propofol in the management of these super-refractory migraine headaches.
  
  
  
  The article covers different preclinical and clinical studies available in the literature. Expert commentary: Propofol is useful as an off-label drug molecule in an emergency situation of refractory migraines where it has been found to reduce the pain intensity. The molecule with a narrow therapeutic index and high abuse potential is prescribed only when conventional drugs fail to deliver any relief. There are not adequate double-blind crossover studies that substantiate the effectiveness of propofol in the treatment of migraine headaches. Furthermore, long-term outcomes for the use of propofol in migraine headaches requires an extensive investigation.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology, School of Medicine , University of California Davis , Sacramento , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhir
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015742:Propofol / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015742:Propofol
keywords: Propofol; clinical studies; cortical spreading depression; refractory migraine; safety analysis