TREATMENT OF ACUTE MIGRAINE WITH ETHAVERI NE

The efficacy of ethaverine and ergotamine in controlling migraine atta cks was investigated with 42 patients in a randomised, double-blind cr oss-over study. Two attacks each were treated with 60 mg ethaverine an d 1 mg ergotamine respectively. Headache intensity, accompanying pheno mena and side effects were recorded quantitatively 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after administration. Ergotamine caused a significant reductio n in headache intensity two hours after application (t-test, p less-th an-or-equal-to 0.05). In contrast, ethaverine had no significant effec t on headache intensity. The responder rate for attack control with er gotamine was 36%, while that for treatment with ethaverine was only 19 % (p less-than-or-equal-to 0.05). The findings show that a 60 mg dose of ethaverine cannot significantly influence the course of a migraine attack. Ethaverine did not have any pronounced effects on the secondar y neurological phenomena either, despite the rationale which suggests that such actions were most likely.