Palmitoylethanolamide-based nutraceutical Calmux? in preventive treatment of migraine

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and tolerability of treatment with a Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA)-based nutraceutical in patients with episodic migraine. Methods: A pilot, prospective, open-label experimental study was designed in which patients with episodic migraine with and without aura seen in the general practice office of a tertiary centre during a period of 6 month were offered the possibility to participate. No control group was included. All included patients were treated with nutraceutical Calmux (R) taken every 12 h for 3 months. Monthly attack frequency, attack intensity, impact of migraine (HIT-6 and MIDAS scales) and quality of sleep at baseline and after 3 months of treatment were compared. Results: Twenty-five patients (22 women and 3 men) were included, with a mean age of 36.3 +/- 12 years. Headache days per month decreased from 10 +/- 2.1 days to 6.6 +/- 3.6 days (p < 0.00001). Days of analgesic use decreased from 9.2 +/- 2.6 days to 4.1 +/- 2.1 (p < 0.0001). None of the patients included suffered from adverse events attributable to treatment. Pain intensity showed a mean reduction of 3.1 points, from 8.1 at baseline to 5 at 3 months of treatment (p < 0.005). Conclusions: PEA nutraceuticals could be useful in migraine prevention. Further studies are necessary, but we consider that PEA-based nutraceutical could be a new approach in the treatment of migraine patients.