Trial reportThe journal of headache and pain2017
Treatment of withdrawal headache in patients with medication overuse headache: a pilot study.
Trial report in The journal of headache and pain, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy and safety of different pharmacological therapies to medication overuse headache: a network meta-analysis.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Pooled it
- Gray matter alteration in medication overuse headache: a coordinates-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.Brain imaging and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Breaking the medication overuse headache cycle: from nociplastic pain mechanisms to patient-centered interventions - the Junior Editorial Board vision.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Review
- Ergotamine and triptans induced medication-overuse headache: a real-world population-based comparative study from the Northern Thai headache registry.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Article
- Headache disorders in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorders.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
- A Descriptive Review of Medication-Overuse Headache: From Pathophysiology to the Comorbidities.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Steroids in Headache: A Comprehensive Review of Recent Research.Annals of neurosciences · 2023Review
- Review
- Management of medication overuse (MO) and medication overuse headache (MOH) S1 guideline.Neurological research and practice · 2022Article
- Detoxification vs non-detoxification before starting an anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody in medication overuse headache.Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · 2022Article
- The Evolution of Medication Overuse Headache: History, Pathophysiology and Clinical Update.CNS drugs · 2021Review
- Drug withdrawal along with bridge therapy with methylprednisolone and/or diazepam for treatment of medication overuse headache: a preliminary report from the WASH-OUT study.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020Article
- Medication Overuse and Medication Overuse Headache: Risk Factors, Comorbidities, Associated Burdens and Nonpharmacologic and Pharmacologic Treatment Approaches.Current pain and headache reports · 2019Review
- Medication-overuse headache: a widely recognized entity amidst ongoing debate.The journal of headache and pain · 2018Review
- The journey from genetic predisposition to medication overuse headache to its acquisition as sequela of chronic migraine.The journal of headache and pain · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDrug withdrawal still remains the key element in the treatment of Medication Overuse Headache (MOH), but there is no consensus about the withdrawal procedure. Still debated is the role of the steroid therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of methylprednisolone or paracetamol in the treatment of withdrawal headache in MOH.
methodsWe performed a pilot, randomized, single-blinded, placebo controlled trial. MOH patients, unresponsive to a 3 months prophylaxis, underwent withdrawal therapy on an inpatient basis. Overused medications were abruptly stopped and methylprednisolone 500 mg i.v (A) or paracetamol 4 g i.v. (B) or placebo i.v. (C) were given daily for 5 days. Patients were monitored at 1 and 3 months.
resultsEighty three consecutive MOH patients were enrolled. Fifty seven patients completed the study protocol. Nineteen patients were randomized to each group. Withdrawal headache on the 5th day was absent in 21.0% of group A, in 31.6% of group B and in 12.5% of group C without significant differences. Withdrawal headache intensity decreased significantly after withdrawal without differences among the groups. Rregardless of withdrawal treatment, 52% MOH patients reverted to an episodic migraine and 62% had no more medication overuse after 3 months.
conclusionsThis study suggests that in a population of severe MOH patients, withdrawal headache decreased significantly in the first 5 days of withdrawal regardless of the treatment used. Methylprednisolone and paracetamol are not superior to placebo at the end of the detoxification program.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.