Migraine headache in children

Flunarizine

Flunarizine is not currently licensed for the prevention of migraines in children; however, there is some limited evidence from one study that flunarizine is efficacious.[47]Sorge F, Marano E. Flunarizine v. placebo in childhood migraine. A double-blind study. Cephalalgia. 1985;5(suppl 2):145-148. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2861907?tool=bestpractice.com In this study the number-needed-to-treat for a 50% reduction of headache frequency and duration was 2. The only other published placebo-controlled trial reported results only graphically, rendering them not amenable to detailed scrutiny.[48]Sorge F, De Simone R, Marano E, et al. Flunarizine in prophylaxis of childhood migraine. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Cephalalgia. 1988;8:1-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3282670?tool=bestpractice.com It may work by impairing the activation of the mechanism of neurogenic inflammation and by increasing pain threshold. Three months of treatment is usually considered adequate to assess efficacy.