Acetaminophen: Effective Against Migraines (NAPS)—Arecent study published in the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine showed acetaminophen, the medicine in Tylenol, is effec- tive in treating the pain, sensitivity to light, and sensitivity to sound caused by migraine. “Manypeople already use acetaminophen for their migraines,” said study lead author Richard B. Lipton, M.D., Professor of Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Chief Science Officer at Innovative Medical Re- search. “This study demonstrates that acetaminophenis an effective treatment for migraine sufferers who are not usually disabled by Migraine sufferers may now have anothersafe, effective treat- ment option: acetaminophen. their headaches.” In a double-blind, placebo-con- acetaminophen, a non-prescription pain reliever with an excel- months, 147 patients were treated with 1,000 mg of acetaminophen symptoms of migraine,” said trolled study conducted over five lent safety profile, can effectively treat the pain and associated (two Extra Strength Tylenol tablets) and 142 patients were treated study co-author Jeffrey Baggish, M.D., of Innovative Medical International Headache Society “Because migraine varies in severity from person to person, with placebo. Subjects met the Research. diagnostic criteria for migraine (with or without aura) and were in individual migraine sufferers dif- pain had to be moderate or severe at the time of treatment. Subjects plained Dr. Lipton. “Acetaminophen is an effective first-line good general health. Headache who required bed rest for more than 50 percent of their migraine attacks or experienced vomiting with more than 20 percentof their migraine attacks were excluded from the study. “This research demonstrates that for a large, well-defined subgroup of migraine sufferers, fer in their treatment needs,” ex- treatment for people who do not usually experience temporary dis- ability with their migraines. If acetaminophen does not work, or if it just dulls the pain, migraine sufferers should see a doctor to discuss treatmentoptions.” For the complete article, go to http://archinte.ama-assn.org.
