Baclofen (Lioresal) is one of several muscle relaxants that have been tested for the treatment of migraine headaches. The testing was not very rigorous – baclofen was subjected only to one open label trial. The trial done by an Israeli neurologist, Dr. Rachel Hering-Hanit involved 54 patients. After a 4-week baseline assessment period, patients were given baclofen for 12 weeks. The drug was given three times a day with the dose ranging from 15 to 40 mg.
What was impressive about this study is that not only 86% of patients improved by at least 50%, but also that 51 out of 54 patients completed the study. It is very likely that many would have dropped out if the treatment was ineffective or had a high rate of side effects. Only 3 patients dropped out because of side effects.
Dr. Hering-Hanit also tested baclofen in 9 cluster headache sufferers with six improving within a week on doses ranging from of 15 to 30 mg.
The main side effect of this drug is drowsiness. Some patients may not need to take it three times a day – one nightly dose may suffice. I start with 10 mg nightly and gradually increase the dose. However, another muscle relaxant, tizanidine has been shown to relieve chronic migraine in double-blind studies and I tend to use it much more frequently than baclofen. Tizanidine has the same main side effect – sedation.
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