Disability Law Blog

Topamax Appears to Reduce Frequency of Migraine Headache

From Medical News Today:

Results from two large clinical trials demonstrate that patients with frequent migraine who were treated with TOPAMAX® (topiramate) for up to 14 months (6 months double blind followed by 8 months open label) had a persistent reduction in the frequency of migraine headaches. In addition, analyses from the three 26-week placebo-controlled pivotal trials of topiramate in migraine prevention showed that topiramate improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

The study showed that side effects, when they occurred, were mild to moderate in severity and resolved once the medication was discontinued. Side effects included "paresthesia (mild tingling sensations in the extremities), loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, taste alteration, diarrhoea, cognitive side effects and weight loss." The most common of these side effects were fatigue, paresthesia and language problems.

Do Migraines Lead to Brain Damage?

Via ABCNEWS.com:   A new study out of the Netherlands, reported in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that people who suffer frequent migraine headaches may be at an increased risk for developing brain lesions:

The study examined 295 migraine patients, 161 of whom experienced migraines with aura. Auras are slight shifts in neurological function that occur just before the onset of a migraine. The sufferer may see expanding geometric shapes, feel a numb or tingling sensation or have difficulty with speech.

Doctors in the study performed MRIs on migraine patients and checked for the presence of what are called white-matter lesions and blockages of blood to the brain.

They found migraine sufferers without aura were seven times more likely to have lesions in the back of their brains as normal controls; migraine sufferers with auras were nearly 14 times more likely to have the lesions.

Frequency of migraine may contribute to the lesions. People who experienced migraines more than once a month were almost 16 times more likely to have lesions.

There was no evidence, however, that these lesions caused any health or cognitive problems.