Abstract
Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) has been recently suggested as prophylaxis therapy for the treatment of primary headache chronic forms. Several studies on its efficacy are available, but results are often contradictory and not univocal. The effects of BoNTA on chronic forms of both tension- type headache and migraine have been investigated. In this study we introduce our five-year long experience with BoNT-A (Botox®, Allergan, Irvine, CA). The employed dosage was 100 U and the Fixed Sites–Fixed Doses (FSFD) protocol was used. The period of study was April 2001 to July 2006. A sum of 1347 patients suffering from chronic daily headache (CDH) were treated. We registered in these patients the number of headache days per month and observed their reduction in relation to the number of injections. The best results were found after 12 months of treatment, with patients being free of attacks 23 days per month. The BoNT-A treatment was safe and well tolerated, as only 1.6% of patients reported adverse events, and they were all mild and transient. In conclusion, BoNT-A therapy appears to be an efficacious new therapeutic choice in the prophylaxis of CDH, especially for patients not responding to previous prophylactic treatments.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 ), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
About this article
Cite this article
Farinelli, I., Coloprisco, G., De Filippis, S. et al. Long-term benefits of botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX) in chronic daily headache: a five-year long experience. J Headache Pain 7, 407–412 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10194-006-0344-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10194-006-0344-9