First results of clinical studies on botulinum toxin A in migraine and headache

Today, botulinumtoxin A (BoNT-A) is applied for a broad spectrum of therapeutic uses. Experimental and clinical studies indicate that it also affects certain kinds of pain. One example of its prophylactic use is for chronic daily headache (CDH), defined as 15 days per month with headache. As shown by subgroup analyses in a phase II study, patients treated with BoNT-A and no additional treatment had significantly more pain-free days than those treated with placebo. They also required less frequent administration of headache medicines. Important was also the recognition that repeat treatments with BoNT-A at dosages of up to 260 U were safe and showed no difficult side effects. Phase III clinical studies are already being conducted.