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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Fresh Research - Verapamil
        
(Message started by: floridian on Dec 6^th, 2003, 9:46pm)

Title: Fresh Research - Verapamil
Post by floridian on Dec 6^th, 2003, 9:46pm

Verapamil is the preventative of choice according to this article.

The numbers of patients actually studied was small (12), and the statistics in the abstract look funny (comparing two different approaches (early treatment vs. late treatment, but the less effective late treatment was for a ten day course, while the more effective early course stopped the headaches in 20 days).

Quote:

Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2003 Nov 12;92(46):1951-3.

Stallmach M. Schmerzklinik Kirschgarten Basel.

Verapamil is the preventive therapy of choice for cluster headache. The recommended dose ranges from 240-720 mg/day. In a retrospective study nine patients with episodic and three patients with chronic cluster headache were analyzed. In episodic cluster headache early treatment onset stopped attacks within 20 days in 80%, late treatment onset was successful within ten days in 67%. Early treatment onset shortens episode duration by four times. The recommended dose is 360 mg/day. Chronic cluster headache probably requires higher doses.

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Verapamil
Post by Prense on Dec 6^th, 2003, 11:25pm

I see the date on that...I have read that same basic info in many different places. Are they studying what is already known?

Chris

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Verapamil
Post by floridian on Dec 7^th, 2003, 10:33pm

When a new abstract appears on Pubmed, I am posting it here under the "fresh research" header. Sometimes the articles are overviews and just designed to educate doctors, nurses, or the general public. Sometimes the articles are a replication of other work (one 'rule' of science is that something has to be replicated by three different labs to be accepted). Less frequently, the articles claim to find something new, or overturn old beliefs. I'm not sure if this exact research has been published before, but the idea that verapamil is one of the better preventives (and maybe the best) is not new.

Title: Re: Fresh Research - Verapamil
Post by Prense on Dec 8^th, 2003, 7:26pm

Thanks for the breakdown... ;;D

That makes sense to me.