Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Differences of anti-nociceptive mechanisms of migraine drugs on the trigeminal pain processing during and outside acute migraine attacks.
The aim of this study was to investigate central anti-nociceptive mechanisms of i.v. acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and oral zolmitriptan (ZOL) in migraine patients and healthy subjects using the 'nociceptive' blink reflex (nBR). Twenty-eight migraine patients received ASA (n = 14, 1000 mg i.v) or ZOL (n = 14, 5 mg p.o) during the acute migraine attack and interictally. ⋯ Both ASA and ZOL suppressed nBR responses (ASA by 68%, ZOL by 78%) only during the acute attack but not interictally. The data suggest, that the anti-nociceptive effects of migraine drugs on the trigeminal nociceptive processing are different during and outside an acute migraine attack.