A new drug may be better for the prevention of migraines than the old ones in the same category. A study just published in Headache suggests that nebivolol, a beta-blocker just approved in the US for the treatment of high blood pressure may be as effective as old beta-blockers, but with significantly fewer side effects. Beta-blockers, such as propranolol (Inderal), timolol (Blocadren) metoprolol (Toprol), atenolol (Tenormin) and nadolol (Corgard) have been used for the prevention of migraines for many years. However, many patients could not tolerate them because of side effects, mostly fatigue, slow heart beat and low blood pressure. Nebivolol appears to cause these side effects 50% less often, while preventing migraine attacks with equal efficacy.
