Effect of valproic acid on withdrawal therapy in patients with overuse of chronic daily headache medications

Abstract Discontinuation of medication is the treatment of choice for patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) who overuse their medications. This treatment may be difficult due to increased headache severity observed in patients immediately after withdrawal. We retrospectively evaluated the effic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical neuroscience 2007-04, Vol.14 (4), p.334-339
Main Authors: Coskun, Ozlem, Ücler, Serap, Cavdar, Leyla, Inan, Levent E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Analgesics - adverse effects
Analgesics - therapeutic use
Chronic daily headache
Chronic Disease
Drug abuse
Female
GABA Agents - therapeutic use
Headache Disorders - chemically induced
Headache Disorders - complications
Headache Disorders - drug therapy
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neurology
Retrospective Studies
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - drug therapy
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - etiology
Treatment Outcome
Valproic acid
Valproic Acid - therapeutic use
Withdrawal therapy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Discontinuation of medication is the treatment of choice for patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) who overuse their medications. This treatment may be difficult due to increased headache severity observed in patients immediately after withdrawal. We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of valproic acid therapy in 66 patients with overuse of CDH medication during withdrawal therapy. Patients were all withdrawn from medications and valproic acid started at 250 mg or 500 mg daily. Forty-two (63.6%) patients had decreased headache severity, including 27.3% objective responses in the first week. At the last visit in the 12th week, 50 patients were headache-free and only one patient had persistent headache. Fifteen patients withdrew from therapy due to side effects and lost to follow-up within this timeframe. Thus, low dose valproic acid appears to be safe and effective in the management of withdrawal therapy.
ISSN:0967-5868
1532-2653
DOI:10.1016/j.jocn.2006.01.014