Oxygen therapies 'effective' in offering migraine relief
17 Jul 2008

A new research review from Australia has found two forms of oxygen therapy which could benefit migraine sufferers.

Researchers at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney discovered that therapy consisting of patients inhaling pure oxygen at high pressure (hyperbaric) can help ease migraine headaches, while patients who breathe oxygen at normal room pressure (normobaric) can ease the pain of cluster headaches.

Lead author of the review, Michael Bennett, said: "We wanted to locate and assess any evidence from randomised trials that oxygen administration was a safe and effective treatment for migraine or cluster headaches.

"We hoped this would assist physicians to make effective treatment decisions in this area."

The results collated from nine studies involving 201 patients show that both methods of oxygen therapy offer relief from the severe pain of cluster headaches and migraine, but the lack of practicality of hyperbaric therapy makes it less widely available.

"We believe that hyperbaric oxygen is also a reasonable measure for migraineurs who have not responded to other measures to treat an acute attack. However, the poor availability of hyperbaric chambers makes this an option only in a minority of health facilities.

"Most physicians treating headaches will continue to rely on established and emerging pharmacological options for treating and preventing acute attacks."

According to research, migraine costs Europe €27 billion each year.

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