Can Magnesium and Sodium Valproate Improve Migraine Headaches Clinical Study

What is Migraine?

Migraines are severely painful headaches, usually on one side of the head. One way to treat them is through preventive treatment. Preventive therapy for migraines is recommended for people who have four or more attacks per month, eight or more headache days a month, extremely bothersome headaches, and medication-overuse headaches.

The Benefit of Preventive Therapy

Desired outcomes of preventive therapy are to lessen the frequency, duration, and intensity of headaches, and to better the effectiveness of medicines. Several medications are currently being used and suggested by studies such as:

• Vitamins B2 and B6
• Minerals magnesium
• And CoQ10

However, poor compliance, unfavorable reactions, lack of effectiveness can set back these desired outcomes.

Can Magnesium Combined with Sodium Valproate Help Prevent Migraines?

Aside from magnesium being essential in keeping our nerves and muscles working properly, studies have looked at using it to prevent migraines since it is well tolerated and effective. People who take magnesium supplements were reported to have fewer migraines.

Sodium valproate is another highly effective drug for preventing migraines, but it also has side effects.

This study looked at whether taking magnesium and sodium valproate together is more effective than taking magnesium or sodium valproate alone for preventing migraines.

The Study on Magnesium and Sodium Valproate for Migraine

222 migraine patients who suffer from at least four migraines a month completed the study to see if their symptoms improved with sodium valproate, magnesium, or a combination of the two.

They were randomly assigned to three groups. 82 were given sodium valproate and the placebo (Group A). 70 took the sodium valproate and magnesium oxide combined (Group B). And the other 70 had magnesium oxide and the placebo (Group C), administered in tablet form, one tablet twice a day for 12 weeks.

Data on the four migraine characteristics were recorded before the start of treatment, then at every four weeks. These characteristics include the frequency or the number of attacks, the severity, the duration, and the number of painkillers used. Both the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) and Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) scores were taken at the beginning and end of the study.

The Results

Group B (magnesium and sodium) performed significantly better in three aspects compared to Group A:

• Their headaches were less severe
• Pain duration was shorter
• And fewer painkillers were needed

Group C showed fewer headaches than Groups A and B. Furthermore, the MIDAS and HIT-6 scores, which measured how bad the headaches were and how bothersome they were, significantly diminished in all groups, and these changes were more significant in Groups A and B.

The Conclusion

The findings showed that a low dose of sodium valproate, when combined with magnesium oxide, could help reduce migraine frequency, severity, duration of attacks, and the number of painkillers used. The study also found that by adding magnesium oxide, sodium valproate becomes more effective. This suggests that a new combination drug (Magnesium Valproate) could be a more potent and safe therapy for migraine prevention.

Reference

Comparative Study of Magnesium, Sodium Valproate, and Concurrent Magnesium-Sodium Valproate Therapy in the Prevention of Migraine Headaches