NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 29 - A feverfew extract obtained using supercritical carbon dioxide (MIG-99) appears particularly effective in migraine prevention, German researchers report in the November issue of Cephalalgia.
As lead investigator Dr. Hans-Christoph Diener told Reuters Health, "Feverfew in the form of MIG-99 is an effective and safe prophylactic treatment of frequent migraine attacks"
Dr. Diener of the University of Essen and colleagues note that feverfew has traditionally been used to treat migraine, and placebo-controlled trials of the powdered herb have shown promising results.
However, tests using ethanol extracts have been less successful, and the MIG-99 formulation was developed in order to provide an enriched and stable product.
To evaluate the agent, the researchers conducted a double-blind trial in 170 migraine patients. At baseline, migraine frequency was a mean of 4.76 attacks over a 4-week period.
The subjects were then randomized to MIG-99 6.25 mg, three times a day or to placebo for up to 16 weeks.
In the active treatment group, migraine frequency fell by 1.9 attacks per month. In the placebo patients, the corresponding decrease was 1.3 per month.
Possible medication-related adverse events occurred in about 8.4% of MIG-99 patients and 10.2% of placebo patients.
The researchers point out that logistic regression analysis of responder rates gave an odds ratio in favor of MIG-99 of 3.4, and they conclude that the extract is effective and has a favorable benefit-risk ratio.
By David Douglas
