Flunarizine and propranolol in the treatment of migraine

The clinical efficacy of flunarizine and of propranolol for the prevention of migraine attacks was assessed in a multicenter double-blind study lasting four months which was preceded by a single-blind placebo period of one month. For both drugs, more than half of the patients judged the effect to be good or very good. When considering the patients' daily logs, both drugs produced a significant reduction of the number of attacks. Propranolol furthermore significantly reduced the severity of attacks and the number of analgesics used during the attacks. In both groups no severe side effects were observed.