G. Sartory et al., A COMPARISON OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF PEDIATRIC MIGRAINE, Behaviour research and therapy, 36(12), 1998, pp. 1155-1170
A comparison was carried out of the efficacy of psychological and drug
treatments for children with migraine. Forty-three children aged betw
een 8 and 16 years (mean age: 11.3 years) who suffered from migraine r
eceived either progressive relaxation or cephalic vasomotor feedback,
both with stress management training, or metoprolol, a beta-blocker. P
sychological treatment was administered in ten sessions lasting six we
eks and the drug treatment lasted ten weeks. Relaxation and stress man
agement training reduced the headache index (frequency x intensity of
headache episodes), more effectively than metoprolol with cephalic vas
omotor feedback and stress management training in between. An overall
improvement over time was found with regard to frequency and intensity
of headache episodes and analgesics intake, When comparing pre- to po
st-treatment data, children treated with relaxation training improved
significantly in headache frequency and intensity, whereas those treat
ed with cephalic vasomotor feedback improved significantly in headache
frequency and duration as well as mood. The clinical improvement was
stable at an 8-months follow-up. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri
ghts reserved.