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A Narrative Review of Evidence-Based Preventive Options for Chronic Migraine

  • Episodic Migraine (R Cowan, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Chronic migraine is a debilitating disorder that affects 2 % of the global population and imparts a significant societal and economic impact. The cornerstones of chronic migraine management include making an accurate diagnosis, patient education, treatment of comorbid conditions, and selection of an appropriate, evidence-based acute and preventive treatment regimen. Although it is common to treat chronic migraine with preventive medications effective for episodic migraine, a number of treatment options exist with specific evidence for effectiveness in chronic migraine. Currently, onabotulinumtoxinA injections are the only FDA-approved preventive treatment for chronic migraine. A number of non-medication treatment options including occipital nerve and supraorbital nerve stimulation have shown promise as effective prevention for patients either unable to tolerate or unable to obtain relief from oral medications, but more research is necessary.

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Conflict of Interest

Amaal J. Starling declares no potential conflicts of interest. Bert B. Vargas is a section editor for Current Pain and Headache Reports.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Clinic, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA

    Amaal J. Starling & Bert B. Vargas

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  1. Amaal J. Starling
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  2. Bert B. Vargas
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Correspondence to Amaal J. Starling.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Episodic Migraine

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Starling, A.J., Vargas, B.B. A Narrative Review of Evidence-Based Preventive Options for Chronic Migraine. Curr Pain Headache Rep 19, 49 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-015-0521-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-015-0521-0

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