By Kelli Whitlock
Contributing writer
A new study of migraine headaches suggests behavioral therapy, not medication, may be the most effective weapon against migraine pain for teen-agers.
Researchers with the Ohio University Headache Treatment and Research Project enrolled 30 teens ages 12 to 17 in the pilot project. Half were treated with triptans -- a fairly new class of drugs widely used for migraines in adults -- and half were assigned to a phone-administered behavioral therapy program that included instruction in biofeedback and a variety of relaxation exercises.
Eighty percent of those receiving behavioral therapy recorded a decrease of more than half in the number of migraines per month, according to project manager Connie Cottrell. Teens in this group also recorded an 80 percent reduction in the hours of activities missed due to migraine pain.
These preliminary results have prompted the researchers to begin plans for a larger study of the treatment of migraines in teens. The planned project will be modeled after a National Institutes of Health-sponsored adult migraine study currently under way at the University's headache clinics in Athens and Columbus.
"Some of these kids were in so much pain, they were just tearful," Cottrell said. "There was one boy whose parent told me he would just lie on the bed, hold his head and cry because the pain was so bad."
Studies over the years have revealed a lot of information about the prevention, onset and treatment of migraines in adults. But even though the peak onset for migraine headaches is around 15 years of age, there is less research on migraines in children and teens.
"The triptan therapies have proven very helpful for adults, but it has not been determined if they will be as effective for treating migraines in teens," said Ken Holroyd, a professor of health psychology at Ohio University who started the Headache Treatment and Research Project in 1975. "Triptans are promising treatments for teens. However, if teens can learn to control migraines without medication, this could save decades of medication consumption."
For the most part, teens in the study were eager to learn to control their headaches, Cottrell said. The teens also responded favorably to biofeedback therapy, which, in this project, involved a small electronic thermometer that attached to a teen's finger to measure body temperature. Kids were taught how to increase the temperature in their fingers, a process that triggers blood vessels in the head to relax, lessening headache pain.
"Interestingly enough, it was a lot easier for the teen-agers to do the biofeedback than for adults," Cottrell said. "Maybe it was because it uses a computer and kids thought it was cool or maybe kids are more open-minded."
Kids' response to biofeedback is one of several things Cottrell hopes a larger study of migraines in teens will help her understand. She also wants to devise a plan that would help parents become more involved in the treatment of their kids' migraines and to design an instructional tool that would do a better job of keeping teens' attention.
For more information about the NIH adult migraine study, call 593-1060.
