Migraines and severe headaches are very problematic for many Americans. They may also be responsible for many individuals being hospitalized. A new study just published may have a common and easy solution for the aforementioned maladies — aspirin.
Researchers from the department of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, revealed IV aspirin had a “moderate” effect on headache pain among study participants. The study, which was published in the September 2010 issue of the journal Neurology, explains how scientists conducted the study and the resulting findings.
The methodology involved the examination of the medical records of 168 people between the ages of 18 and 75, who had been hospitalized with chronic headaches. Of the 168 people receiving IV aspirin, about 70 percent were women, with most participants reporting (165 people or 98 percent) chronic daily headaches, defined as a headache on 15 or more days per month over the past three months. About three-quarters had a primary diagnosis of migraine (77 percent). The majority had been overusing medication (159 people or 95 percent). The aim was to determine the effects of aspirin on headaches. Most of the participants were women, and all but three reported daily pain, primarily from migraines.
Patients with severe headaches rated on a scale from 8 to 10, experienced relief for moderate pain more than 25 percent of the time. For mild headaches, IV aspirin completely eliminated pain. On the pain scale, headaches were generally reduced by three points. The average amount of aspirin administered was five, 1-gram doses.
Although some side effects occurred, the research supports the contention that aspirin, administered intravenously, could offer a cost-effective and safe treatment for chronic headache and migraine sufferers. The side effects documented included nausea, vomiting, and pain as a result of the injection. However, those side effects were only documented in approximately 6 percent of the study participants.
The study’s author, Dr. Peter J. Goadsby, suggests that more research needs to be conducted in this area since the findings cannot be considered as representative of the general population and may not be indicative of what the effects would be in people with less severe headaches that do not require hospitalization. –torrrance stephens, ph.d.
