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Treatment-resistant medication overuse headache can be cured
Signe B Munksgaard1, Lars Bendtsen, Rigmor H Jensen
1Danish Headache Centre, Department of Neurology, Glostrup Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Nordre Ringvej 57, Glostrup, Denmark.
Headache
|June 26, 2012
Summary
This study shows that a structured, multidisciplinary treatment program significantly reduces headache frequency and medication use in patients with difficult-to-treat medication overuse headache. Most patients experienced long-term relief and reverted to episodic headache patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a prevalent and debilitating neurological condition.
- Effective management is challenging due to high rates of treatment failure and patient relapse.
- Exclusion of non-responders and relapsed patients from studies limits understanding of MOH treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the long-term effectiveness of a structured, multidisciplinary treatment program for medication overuse headache.
- To evaluate outcomes in patients previously unresponsive to specialist treatment for MOH.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of patients with MOH refractory to prior specialist care.
- Implementation of a 2-month structured detoxification program.
- Close 10-month follow-up by a multidisciplinary team (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists).
Main Results:
- Significant headache frequency reduction of 39.3% at 12 months (P < .001).
- 82.6% of patients were cured of medication overuse at 12 months.
- 60.5% of patients reverted to episodic headache, with medication use reduced by 62.8% (P < .001).
Conclusions:
- Multidisciplinary treatment within a structured detoxification program offers substantial benefits for treatment-resistant medication overuse headache.
- Close follow-up is crucial for sustained positive outcomes in MOH management.
- This approach improves headache frequency, medication overuse status, and overall headache patterns.
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