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Treatment of Episodic Migraine with AURICular Neuromodulation: a Prospective Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study

Not Applicable
Not yet recruiting
Conditions
Migraine Disorders
Interventions
Other: Auricular neuromodulation
Other: Sham auricular neuromodulation
Registration Number
NCT06623188
Lead Sponsor
Hôpital Européen Marseille
Brief Summary

Migraine is a ubiquitous pathology affecting approximately 1 billion individuals and being the leading cause of morbidity worldwide before the age of 50. Migraine treatment consists of two main approaches: acute treatment to relieve headache symptoms and preventive treatment to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks by at least 50%. Preventive treatment involves medications such as beta-blockers, antiepileptics, calcium channel blockers, and a new therapeutic class called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors. While traditional treatments have modest efficacy and limited tolerability, CGRP inhibitors have shown better tolerability and superior efficacy. However, their prescription in France is restricted to neurologists and specialized pain evaluation and treatment units. Additionally, the long-term effects of CGRP inhibition on blood pressure control and vascular homeostasis are not fully understood.

In addition to pharmacological preventive treatment, non-pharmacological approaches have emerged, such as auricular neurostimulation. This can be achieved through electrical stimulation of the cymba conchae, considered a non-invasive alternative to invasive vagal stimulation, and has shown benefits in reducing the number of migraine days compared to a placebo. Another approach involves stimulation of specific areas of the entire auricle using techniques borrowed from auriculotherapy (auricular acupuncture).

The objective of the study is to demonstrate that auricular neuromodulation, performed with a laser device, targeted and personalized on selected areas of the auricle, has a beneficial effect on the number of moderate to severe migraine days per month.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
106
Inclusion Criteria
  • 18 years ≥ Aged ≤ 60 years
  • Moderate to severe Migraine for at least one year
  • Migraines appeared before the age of 50 and diagnosed according to IHS (international headache society) criteria.
  • Therapeutic failure of at least 2 migraine preventive medications
  • Frequency of migraine days ≥ 4 per month and < 15 per month
Exclusion Criteria
  • Pathology of the auricle (e.g. epithelioma)
  • Patient treated with botulinum toxin for migraine ≤ 2 months
  • Patient treated with anti-cgrp for migraine, with last injection less than 3 months ago
  • Patient treated with non-invasive auricular stimulation ( TENS)

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Auricular neuromodulationAuricular neuromodulation-
Sham auricular neuromodulationSham auricular neuromodulation-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of migraine days in the last 4 weeks of treatment, compared with the initial assessment period (4-week pre-treatment observation).4 months
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Days without headache or migraine6 months
Migraine attacks duration6 months
Rate of responders, i.e., patients with a 50% reduction in the number of migraine days after treatment compared with the initial assessment6 months
Quality of life of patients measured by SF-36 questionnaire6 months
Functional disability due to headache or migraine as measured by MIDAS and HIT-6 questionnaires6 months
Use of rescue medication6 months

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

BENNANI

🇫🇷

Marseille, France

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