Efficacy and Tolerability of Pregabalin Versus Topiramate in the Prophylaxis of Chronic Daily Headache With Analgesic Overuse: An Open-Label Prospective Study
Clinical Neuropharmacology, 03/17/2011
Clinical Article
Rizzato B et al. - Similar to topiramate, pregabalin seems to be an effective and well-tolerated preventive therapy in chronic headache and a new option in the management of withdrawal from abused drugs in patients with analgesic overuse, a difficult-to-treat population.
Methods- After a 2-month baseline period (T0), 100 consecutive patients with medication overuse headache were assigned to receive 150 mg/d pregabalin or 100 mg/d topiramate.
- After a titration period of 4 weeks, a follow-up visit was scheduled every 2 months (T1 and T2) to evaluate headache frequency, the amount of rescue medication intake, and disability.
- Of the 46 pregabalin-treated patients, the mean monthly headache frequency significantly decreased from 21.8 ± 4.8 (T0) to 5.1 ± 3.8 (T2), and the monthly number of days with medication intake decreased from 15.1 ± 4.8 (T0) to 2.9 ± 1.9 (T2).
- of the 42 topiramate-treated patients, the mean monthly headache frequency decreased from 21.8 ± 4.9 (T0) to 5.3 ± 3.5 (T2); and the mean monthly number of days with medication intake decreased from 15.1 ± 3.7 (T0) to 2.6 ± 1.5 (T2).
- A significant improvement of disability score was reported in both groups.
