Acta neurologica Scandinavica. Supplementum
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Acta Neurol. Scand., Suppl.c · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyA randomized controlled trial on medication-overuse headache: outcome after 1 and 4 years.
Different opinions exist regarding the optimal treatment of patients with medication-overuse headache (MOH). Few studies have evaluated the long-term prognosis among these patients, and there are no standard measures of outcome in such studies. ⋯ Early introduction of prophylactic medication was an effective way to reduce headache days during the first 3 months, and the notion that patients with MOH need withdrawal of analgesics to respond to preventive medication seems to be incorrect. The long-term prognosis during the 4-year follow-up was relatively favorable as there was a steady decline in headache, one-third of the patients with MOH having ≥50% reduction in headache frequency from baseline and two-thirds being without medication overuse.