Migraine Preventive Therapy; Focus on β-blockers; Literature Review Download PDF

Migraine is an unpleasant neurological disorder characterized by frequent severe headache attacks associated with nausea, phonophobia, or photophobia with or without aura. Preventive treatment is an essential part of migraine management if it is indicated in certain circumstances. β-blockers are widely used for reducing migraine attacks frequency and severity for a long time with favorable adverse effects profile. The prevalence of migraine is approximately 12% in the general adult population, and 18% in women, 6% in men in the US population-based studies. Almost 90% of migrainous patients experience moderate or severe pain, three quarter have reduced functional capacity during attacks of headache, and one-third require bed rest during the attacks with performing daily chores, and maintain active family, the inability to work, social, and community relationships. This literature review summarizes the principles of migraine preventive therapy, particularly the efficacy of β-blockers. We did a search in the PubMed database looking for relevant articles on the topic. We used MeSh words: β-blockers, β-adrenergic antagonist, Migraine, and Migraine prevention. β-blockers are highly effective in migraine prevention and provide different classes with a preferable safety profile.