The design and protocol of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Many studies have already reported encouraging results in the prophylactic therapy of migraine by acupuncture, but there seems to be a lack of high quality randomized controlled trials from China. We design and perform a randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture compared with flunarizine in the prophylactic therapy of patients with migraine without aura in China.

METHODS:

This trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial. The 140 migraine patients are randomly allocated to two different groups. The acupuncture groups (n = 70) is treated with acupuncture and placebo medicine; while the control group (n = 70) is treated with sham acupuncture and medicine (Flunarizine). Both Flunarizine and placebo are taken 10 mg once per night for the first 2 weeks and then 5 mg once per night for the next 2 weeks. Patients in both groups receive 12 sessions of verum/sham acupuncture in 4 weeks.

DISCUSSION:

The study design and the long term clinical practice of acupuncturists guarantee a high external validity for the results. The results of our trial will be helpful to supply the evidence on the efficacy of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis in China.

• Authors: Yan Zhang, Linpeng Wang, Huilin Liu, Nan Li, Jingdao Li, Jinghong Yi
• Journal: Trials (Trials) Vol. 10 Pg. 25 (Apr 24 2009) ISSN: 1745-6215 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19389262 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Calcium Channel Blockers
• Flunarizine

Topics

• Acupuncture Therapy
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Calcium Channel Blockers (therapeutic use)
• China
• Clinical Protocols
• Female
• Flunarizine (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Migraine with Aura (prevention & control)
• Prospective Studies
• Research Design
• Treatment Outcome
• Young Adult