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Nortriptyline (Pamelor) is a tricyclic antidepressant approved by the FDA only for the treatment of depression. However, with the introduction of SSRI family of antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac) which...

Eptienzumab (Vyepti) was just approved by the FDA for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. Eptinezumab is another monoclonal antibody that blocks the effect of CGRP, a chemical released during a migraine...

A group of American and Chinese researchers reported an objective way to diagnose migraine headaches using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The paper just published in Neurology used machine learning to...

Acupuncture has been subjected to a very large number of clinical trials for a variety of conditions, including migraine headaches. Dr. Zhang, a neurologist at Stanford and two of his colleagues have published a review of trials...

Nebivolol (Bystolic) is one of the newer, third generation beta-blockers, drugs used for the treatment of high blood pressure as well as migraine headaches. In Europe, it’s been in use for over 20 years. In addition to beta-blockade, it...

Lasmiditan (Rayvow) is the first (and probably the last) drug in the class of ditans. Just like the triptans (sumatriptan or Imitrex and other), it works through the serotonin system. However, it activates 5-HT1F serotonin...

Naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig) is a triptan with a longer duration of action of 6 hours, compared to sumatriptan, rizatirptan, zolmitriptan, eletriptan, and almotriptan, which work for 2-4 hours. The seventh triptan, frovatriptan...

Light sensitivity is a common feature of migraine headaches and during an attack most people prefer being in the dark. According to a Harvard professor, Dr. Rami Burstein, exposure to pure green light may be better than...

Naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn) is a popular over-the-counter and prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which is often used for the treatment of migraine headaches. A combination of naproxen with...

If you suffer from migraines you are at a higher risk of having certain other medical problems, or comorbidities. They are not the result of having migraines, nor do those condition cause migraines. Most likely, they may have...

Mirtazapine (Remeron) is a tetracyclic antidepressant similar to tricyclic antidepressants and like tricyclics may have pain-relieving properties. The three and four cycles refer to the chemical formulas of these drugs, which...

Ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) is the first oral anti-CGRP drug to be approved by the FDA for the acute treatment of migraine attacks. It was developed by Allergan, manufacturer of Botox, the safest and arguably the most effective...

Milnacipran (Savella) is a drug that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in...

Metoprolol (Toprol) is one of the beta-blockers, drugs used for the treatment of hypertension and other heart conditions. It is one of the three beta-blockers (the other two are propranolol and timolol) that are included in...

When sumatriptan (Imitrex) was introduced in 1992 it was truly a breakthrough drug – the first drug specifically developed for the acute treatment of migraines. Sumatriptan and six other triptans have alleviated suffering of...

Methylergonovine (Methergine) is used intravenously or in a tablet form after childbirth to help stop bleeding from the uterus. Methylergonovine belongs to the class of drugs known as ergot alkaloids. A drug in this class that is...

Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) deficiency has been long suspected to play a role in the development of migraines, but so far it has not been directly linked to migraines. A new study published in the latest issue of Headache compared...

Metformin (Glucophage, Glumetza) is a drug for the treatment of diabetes and you will not find any scientific articles if you google “metformin and migraine”. However, I’ve been prescribing metformin to some of my migraine...

Clopidogrel (Plavix) was not on my original list of 100 migraine drugs, but I decided to add it after another mention of this drug at the last congress of the International Headache Society in Dublin (since I keep adding...

Memantine (Namenda) is an Alzheimer’s drug that has been used for the treatment of pain and migraine headaches. This drug blocks the NMDA receptor in the brain, which is involved in the processing of pain messages and...

Cove, a telemedicine startup provides medical care to people suffering from migraines. There are 40 million migraine sufferers in the US, only half of whom seek medical care. The other half may have mild migraines, not have...

Meloxicam (Mobic) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which is approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in adults and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children older than 2 years...

It is not surprising that when a doctor is tired or hurried he or she is more likely to make a mistake. A new study published in JAMA Network Open provides some hard data on doctor performance as it relates to the prescribing...

A large study confirms previous reports of the beneficial effect of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) injections on depression as well as anxiety. In my two previous blog posts from 2011 and 2014 I mentioned reports of cosmetic Botox...

Mefenamic acid (Ponstel) is one the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and like all other NSAIDs it is being used for the treatment of acute migraine attacks. Mefenamic acid is popular for the treatment of menstrual...

Medication overuse headache (MOH) is not proven to occur from the frequent intake of triptans (Imitrex, or sumatriptan and other) or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, and other). However, there is good evidence that caffeine...

Lidocaine (Xylocaine) is an old local anesthetic used by surgeons, dentists, and other doctors to numb parts of the body. Lidocaine drops given into the nostrils were compared to saline drops for the acute treatment of...

On September 12, 2019, Dr. Mauskop spoke on Advances and Controversies in Migraine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Europe’s largest university hospital. In the top photo Dr. Mauskop with Professor Uwe Reuter of Charité...

At the biennial International Headache Congress held last week in Dublin a group of Italian researchers presented a paper, Relationship between severity of migraine and vitamin D deficiency: a case-control study...

Ketorolac (Toradol) is one of many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) pain medications used to treat migraine headaches. In a tablet form it is no more effective than ibuprofen, naproxen or any other NSAID, but has...