The Clinical journal of pain
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Acupuncture in migraine: investigation of autonomic effects.
A dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system is discussed as a pathogenetic factor in migraine. As acupuncture has been shown to exhibit considerable autonomic effects, we tested whether the clinical effects of acupuncture in migraine prophylaxis are mediated by changes of the autonomic regulation. ⋯ The data indicate, that VA and SA acupuncture might have a beneficial influence on the autonomic nervous system in migraineurs with a reduction of the LF power of HRV related to the clinical effect. This might be due to a reduction of sympathetic nerve activity. VA and SA induce different effects on the high-frequency component of HRV, which seem, however, not to be relevant for the clinical outcome in migraine.