[Migraine improved by amlodipine medication in a case with hypertension]

A 64-year old woman visited our outpatient clinic with chronic headache on August 30(th), 2005. She had been suffering from migraine from her 30's. Although sumatriptan improved her symptoms, migraine attacks had occurred every other day recently. At presentation, her headache was moderate in intensity and lasted about four hours. Daily activity worsened her pulsating headache associated with nausea and vomiting. She diagnosed with migraine without aura, which met the diagnostic criterion for migraine by International Classification of Headache Disorders. Lomerizine was administered as a prophylactic agent, however it did not reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. Accordingly, lomerizine was withdrawn from November 2005. Her blood pressure gradually increased during the course, and amlodipine, 2.5 mg/day, was started for her hypertension May 2007. After starting amlodipine, she noticed a reduction in migraine attacks, only two times a month in August 2007. Assessment with the HIT-6 questionnaire showed great improvement in her QOL score for daily life. Although the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated, amlodipine was effective in reducing migraine attacks in this patient. The findings in this case may suggest that amlodipine administration might be a useful strategy to control migraine attack.