Max
11-29-2002, 09:32 AM
Botox May Relieve Cluster Headaches
Thu Nov 28, 4:48 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Merritt McKinney
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Injections of Botox, the wrinkle-smoothing toxin, may provide relief to some people with cluster headaches that do not respond to conventional treatment, according to a Chicago headache specialist.
Seven out of 10 people with cluster headache experienced at least some relief after receiving Botox injections, Dr. Lawrence Robbins of the Robbins Headache Clinic in Northbrook, Illinois, and Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois reports in a recent issue of the American Journal of Pain Management.
Although Robbins points out that larger studies are needed to confirm the benefits of Botox for cluster headaches, he said that the treatment may be helpful for some patients.
"Botox is only occasionally useful for cluster headache, but, for those who obtain relief, it is very welcome," Robbins told Reuters Health. He noted that cluster headaches can be severe, and the patients in the study had not responded well to other sorts of treatments.
Cluster headaches--which are more common in men--cause sudden, severe pain, often centered in one eye. Though the headaches tend to be short, they run in cycles, which may cause several headaches in one day or every few days. Most people with cluster headaches experience pain-free periods of several weeks or more between each headache cycle. About 10% of sufferers, however, experience chronic cycles, which can last a year or more.
Several medications, including the blood-pressure drug verapamil, lithium and cortisone, are used to prevent cluster headaches, and other drugs, including ones used to treat normal migraine headaches, can relieve the pain once a cycle starts. Many people who experience cluster headaches do not get much relief from conventional therapies, though.
According to several reports, Botox, which is the brand name for a purified form of the botulinum toxin, has reportedly been useful in relieving migraine headache, so Robbins set out to test it in people with cluster headache who did not respond well to conventional treatment. The study included eight men and two women aged 28 to 63 who received at least one Botox injection in the face or temple.
Among the seven patients with chronic headaches, one experienced "dramatic" relief that lasted for 3 months, while another three experienced moderate relief, according to the report. The treatment had no effect in three patients. In the case of patients with episodic cluster headaches, relief was complete in one and moderate in another. In the third patient, relief was complete after the first round of injections, but a year later, after a second set of injections, symptoms improved only moderately.
In the report, Robbins notes that larger studies that include "control" groups of people who do not receive Botox are needed to confirm the benefits of the treatment.
In the meantime, he told Reuters Health that even though Botox did not help everyone in the study, it did significantly improve the quality of life of several patients. One drawback of Botox, however, is its high cost, Robbins said.
The Chicago physician said that Botox is safe, although he noted that the long-term safety of its use as a headache treatment has not been tested. So far, he said, "we have had very few side effects from Botox, so that the worst that happens is nothing at all." In the study, one patient experienced a droopy eyelid for 12 days, and another had a burning sensation in both eyes that cleared up after 6 days.
SOURCE: American Journal of Pain Management 2002;12:136-139.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=571&ncid=751&e=7&u=/nm/20021128/hl_nm/botox_headaches_dc
Thu Nov 28, 4:48 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Merritt McKinney
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Injections of Botox, the wrinkle-smoothing toxin, may provide relief to some people with cluster headaches that do not respond to conventional treatment, according to a Chicago headache specialist.
Seven out of 10 people with cluster headache experienced at least some relief after receiving Botox injections, Dr. Lawrence Robbins of the Robbins Headache Clinic in Northbrook, Illinois, and Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois reports in a recent issue of the American Journal of Pain Management.
Although Robbins points out that larger studies are needed to confirm the benefits of Botox for cluster headaches, he said that the treatment may be helpful for some patients.
"Botox is only occasionally useful for cluster headache, but, for those who obtain relief, it is very welcome," Robbins told Reuters Health. He noted that cluster headaches can be severe, and the patients in the study had not responded well to other sorts of treatments.
Cluster headaches--which are more common in men--cause sudden, severe pain, often centered in one eye. Though the headaches tend to be short, they run in cycles, which may cause several headaches in one day or every few days. Most people with cluster headaches experience pain-free periods of several weeks or more between each headache cycle. About 10% of sufferers, however, experience chronic cycles, which can last a year or more.
Several medications, including the blood-pressure drug verapamil, lithium and cortisone, are used to prevent cluster headaches, and other drugs, including ones used to treat normal migraine headaches, can relieve the pain once a cycle starts. Many people who experience cluster headaches do not get much relief from conventional therapies, though.
According to several reports, Botox, which is the brand name for a purified form of the botulinum toxin, has reportedly been useful in relieving migraine headache, so Robbins set out to test it in people with cluster headache who did not respond well to conventional treatment. The study included eight men and two women aged 28 to 63 who received at least one Botox injection in the face or temple.
Among the seven patients with chronic headaches, one experienced "dramatic" relief that lasted for 3 months, while another three experienced moderate relief, according to the report. The treatment had no effect in three patients. In the case of patients with episodic cluster headaches, relief was complete in one and moderate in another. In the third patient, relief was complete after the first round of injections, but a year later, after a second set of injections, symptoms improved only moderately.
In the report, Robbins notes that larger studies that include "control" groups of people who do not receive Botox are needed to confirm the benefits of the treatment.
In the meantime, he told Reuters Health that even though Botox did not help everyone in the study, it did significantly improve the quality of life of several patients. One drawback of Botox, however, is its high cost, Robbins said.
The Chicago physician said that Botox is safe, although he noted that the long-term safety of its use as a headache treatment has not been tested. So far, he said, "we have had very few side effects from Botox, so that the worst that happens is nothing at all." In the study, one patient experienced a droopy eyelid for 12 days, and another had a burning sensation in both eyes that cleared up after 6 days.
SOURCE: American Journal of Pain Management 2002;12:136-139.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=571&ncid=751&e=7&u=/nm/20021128/hl_nm/botox_headaches_dc