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Amitriptyline in the prophylaxis of migraine

Effectiveness and relationship of antimigraine and antidepressant effects

From the Departments of Neurology and Biometry, University of Kansas Medical Center College of Health Sciences and Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas.

Amitriptyline was evaluated as a prophylactic antimigraine agent in 110 patients with severe migraine. This agent improved the migraine more than 50 percent in 72 percent of patients and more than 80 percent in 57 percent of patients. Most of the 31 patients with less than 50 percent improvement had virtually no response. Depression, measured with the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, was absent in 40 patients, borderline in 53, and moderate to severe in 17. Overall, depression ratings improved minimally with therapy. There was a weak relationship between improvement in depression and improvement in migraine. Subgroups with a stronger correlation of these could not be found. This work suggests that amitriptyline is effective in migraine prophylaxis and that it has a primary effect on migraine that is relatively independent of its antidepressant action.

Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Couch at Department of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 39th and Rainbow, Kansas City, KS 66103.

This study was supported in part by the Lettie B. Mcllvain and Elmer F. Pierson funds and in part by a grant from Merck Laboratories.

Received for publication May 2, 1975.

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