IV aspirin effective for migraine, U.S. study finds

IV aspirin effective for migrain

A new study published in the journal Neurology reveals that aspirin which is administered intravenously is a safe and effective treatment to alleviate severe headaches and migraines of hospitalized patients.

“Intravenous aspirin is not readily available in the United States, and only on a 'named patient' basis in the United Kingdom,” said Dr. Peter J. Goadsby of the Headache Group in the department of neurology at the University of California, who is the study author .

Goadsby said that the findings of their study, “show it could be a cost-effective, safe and easy-to-use treatment for people hospitalized for headache or migraine.”

The subjects of the study included 168 patients with ages 18 to 75 who had been admitted for severe headaches or migraines.

They were given 1 gram of aspirin via an infusion drip for an average of five doses.

More than 25 percent of the patients reported a full category drop in pain, meaning those with severe pain experienced moderate pain after the treatment, those with moderate to mild, and those with mild pain reported no headache after treatment.

The recorded side effects included nausea, vomiting, bleeding, heartburn, rashes, kidney damage, and worse asthmatic symptoms.

“Our findings warrant more research into the use of IV aspirin for severe headache or migraine,” Goadsby stated in a news release by the American Academy of Neurology.

Goadsby said that other studies have shown the benefits of IV aspirin by comparing pain levels against a separate group of patients who did not receive the treatment.

However, this particular study did not have that second group to compare results with.

This was pointed out by Dr. Carl Stafstrom, a professor of neurology and pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who said that, “And certainly I would want to see this approach tested with such a 'control group' to make sure that the treatment is truly safe as well as effective.”

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday September 22 2010, 8:15 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0