• Toshihiko Shimizu.
• Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
• Brain Nerve. 2009 Oct 1; 61 (10): 1125-30.

AbstractBeta blockers (beta-adrenoceptor blockers) are known to be used for the prophylactic treatment of migraine. The improvement of migraine in the patients who recieved propranolol for angina pectoris revealed the effectiveness of propranolol in migraine prophylaxis. Many clinical trials have confirmed that propranolol is effective in the prophylactic treatment of migraine. Other beta-blocking drugs, namely nadolol, metoprolol, atenolol, timolol and bisoprolol, have also been demonstrated to be effective in the prophylaxis of migraine. In contrast, several beta blockers with intrinsic sympathetic activity (ISA), such as alprenolol, oxprenolol, pindolol and acebutolol, have not been demonstrated to be effective in migraine prophylaxis. In this review, we have descrived the pharmacologic background and pharmacokinetics of the beta blockers that demonstrated a prophylactic effect for migraine will be described. We have also reviewed the results of clinical trials of beta-blocking drugs for migraine.

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