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Botulinum Toxin Type A for Chronic Migraine

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Abstract

Chronic migraine (CM) is the leading cause of chronic daily headache, a common and debilitating headache syndrome. The management of CM patients is challenging, with only limited benefit from available oral preventive medications. Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) has been used extensively to treat disorders associated with increased muscle tone. More recent scientific data support an analgesic effect of the toxin. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of BoNT make it an appealing candidate for migraine prevention. Results from older clinical trials on the efficacy of the toxin in CM were inconclusive. However, recent trials using more stringent inclusion criteria have shown positive results, supporting the use of the toxin in some patients with this disorder. This review summarizes the scientific data on the analgesic properties of BoNT, as well as the clinical data on the efficacy of the toxin in treating CM.

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Disclosure

Dr. Ashkenazi received honoraria from MediCom Worldwide for writing commentaries on various topics in headache for its website http://www.migraineresourcenetwork.com.

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  1. The Neurologic Group of Bucks/Montgomery County, 800 West State Street, Suite 101, Doylestown, PA, 18901, USA

    Avi Ashkenazi

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  1. Avi Ashkenazi
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Correspondence to Avi Ashkenazi.

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Ashkenazi, A. Botulinum Toxin Type A for Chronic Migraine. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 10, 140–146 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-010-0087-5

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