Effectiveness of flunarizine in the prophylaxis of migraine: a meta-analytical review of the literature

• Published in: Revista de neurologiá Vol. 36; no. 10; pp. 907 - 912
• Main Authors: Reveiz-Herault, L, Cardona, A F, Ospina, E G, Carrillo, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Spain 16-05-2003
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Clinical Trials as Topic; Female; Flunarizine - therapeutic use; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Migraine Disorders - prevention & control; Treatment Outcome; Vasodilator Agents - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0210-0010
• DOI: 10.33588/rn.3610.2002450

Migraine is a common and disabling health problem among young and middle aged adults. Flunarizine have been used as a prophylactic medication in its management for more than two decades.
The aim of the study is to systematically review the evidence obtained from randomized controlled trials about the efficacy and security of flunarizine versus placebo for the prevention of migraine in adults.
Electronic search were performed using the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Biosis, the Cochrane Library, Lilacs and others. Reference lists of retrieved studies, reviews and conference abstracts were used to found another articles. Additionally, the authors performed a handsearched in recognized journals related to migraine and neurological topics. Randomized, placebo controlled, double blind trials assessing the efficacy of flunarizine for preventing migraine were included. We evaluated the frequency of the attacks by comparing the mean frequency before and after the intervention for each group of treatment and then the two groups were compared. To evaluate the security of flunarizine we used included and excluded studies and open trials.
Nine studies were obtained but only four met the inclusion criteria. The fixed effects model reported a reduction in the frequency of attacks by using flunarizine. The monthly difference was 0.55 attacks (CI 95%= 0.215 0.895; p= 0.002). Somnolence was the most frequent adverse effect in 20.5% of the subjects (n= 1,987).
Based on a small number of trials, flunarizine, at a daily dose of 10 mg lightly reduces the frequency of migraine attacks.