ABSTRACTBackground Migraine is one of the mostcommon types of headache, with significantsocioeconomic effects. Prophylactic drugs areused to prevent migraine headaches but areunpromising.Objective To assess the effects of addingacupuncture to conventional migraine prophylaxis.Methods One hundred patients with migraine(41 male, 59 female), in whom prophylactic drugshad not produced a fall of at least 50%in thenumber of attacks, entered the study. The patientswere randomised into two groups, sham and trueacupuncture. The patients in both groupscontinued their prophylactic treatment andreceived 12 sessions of either true or shamacupuncture. Each session was 30 min and wasrepeated three times a week. The number ofheadaches in the two groups was compared atbaseline, and at the end of four successivemonths.Results There was no significant difference in thefrequency of attacks between the two groupsbefore intervention. After 1 month, the frequencyof attacks each month decreased from 5.1 (0.8) to3.4 (1.2) in the true acupuncture group, and from5.0 (0.8) to 4.4 (1.1) in the sham acupuncturegroup (a significant difference, p<0.001). Thefrequency continued to decrease in month 2 butincreased in months 3 and 4; however, it was stillsignificantly lower than baseline, and thedifference remained significant after month 4.Conclusions Acupuncture is applicable as anadjunct to prophylactic drugs in migraineurs inwhom the number of attacks does not fall withprophylactic medication.
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