Could oxygen help migraineurs as researchers hit barriers to improving treatment?
Portable oxygen can be used by migraine sufferers to help them cope with the condition, which may be important to those experiencing the severe headaches at a time when researchers are having difficulty identifying ways to improve treatment.
A randomised controlled trial conducted by scientists in the Netherlands found there was no significant positive impact of physicians taking a proactive approach to patients with suboptimal help with the condition.
This is despite an increase in the usage of preventative medication during in the study, in which 490 patients participated - 257 of these in a control group.
Elsewhere, another randomised controlled trial in China showed there was not a significant difference in the help provided by sham and real acupuncture among 480 migraineurs.
"Acupuncture has a large effect on treating migraines, but the specific therapeutic effect may be minor," the authors wrote.
Both studies were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
A link between migraines and a higher risk of developing depression was recently discovered in a study by scientists at the University of Calgary in Canada.
Posted by James Worrall
10/01/2012 14:09:48
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