Role of Memantine in Treatment of Migraine

Abstract

Objective: To look for the response of the Memantine for migraine in our society.
Methods: This was a prospective observational trial conducted at Neurology department, Services Hospital Lahore over a period of 1 year, from January 2019 to December 2019. A total of 55 patients were included in the study and they were observed for 1) Headache frequency per month; 2) Headache severity as per pain rating scale (1-10 as mild to most severe); 3) Level of distress as per distress rating scale (1-10, as mild to most sever distress); and hindrance of activity of daily living as per Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS). These study variables were noted before the start of treatment. Memantine was started to all of the patients
and after 3 months of treatment all patients were re-evaluated for same variable. Also side effects of the drug were noted in the study.
Results: The mean age of the patients in our study was calculated as 43±11.42 years. The headache frequency of the patients per month significantly reduced after 2 months treatment. Also in 76.3% of patients, more than 50% reduction in the frequency of headache was noted after the treatment. The mean MIDAS score before start of the treatment was 81.8±14.76. After 3
months of treatment with Memantine, the MIDAS score found was 15.52±2.84 (P value = <0.05). It was also found that minimal side effects of the drug were encountered by the patients in our study.
Conclusions: On the basis of this study, we conclude that Memantine is a safe drug and can be used for migraine management. However still further randomized trials with larger sample size are being recommended