Prophylatic treatment of migraine and migraine clinical variants with topiramate: an update

Sergio Carmona1, Osvaldo Bruera1,21Department of Neuro-otology and Pain and Headache, Instituto de Neurociencias de Buenos Aires INEBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Department of Pain and Headache, Fundación Favaloro, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaAbstract: Migraine and migraine variants are common, chronic and incapacitating neurovascular disorders with a high impact on health resources. There is an extensive evidence base provided by double-blind, placebo-controlled trials showing that topiramate is a safe, effective and well tolerated drug in the management of migraine and its variants, being especially promising in the management of migraine-vertigo syndrome. Models both in the US and the UK have also shown that it offers a cost benefit when direct and indirect costs are evaluated, by reducing work loss, improving quality of life and reducing the use of increasingly scarce health resources.Keywords: migraine, migraine prophylaxis, topiramate, quality of life, basilar migraine, cluster headache, vestibular migrain