SynthesisBMJ open2019
Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of botulinum toxin for the prevention of migraine.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
44 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.
- Botulinum Toxin Type A for the Prevention of Migraines: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews.Toxins · 2026Pooled it
- Saudi clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and prevention of migraine headache.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2025Guideline
- Network meta-analysis comparing efficacy of different strategies on medication-overuse headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of pharmacological prophylaxis for chronic migraine: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Utility of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Chronic Daily Headache Prophylaxis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Pooled it
- Role of memantine in adult migraine: a systematic review and network meta-analysis to compare memantine with existing migraine preventive medications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Prescription of therapeutic exercise in migraine, an evidence-based clinical practice guideline.The journal of headache and pain · 2023Guideline
- The comparative effectiveness of migraine preventive drugs: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.The journal of headache and pain · 2023Pooled it
- Vestibular migraine treatment: a comprehensive practical review.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2022Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Efficacy of Botulinum Toxin A for Neuropathic Pain.Toxins · 2022Pooled it
- Botox (OnabotulinumtoxinA) for Treatment of Migraine Symptoms: A Systematic Review.Pain research & management · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- High efficacy of onabotulinumtoxinA treatment in patients with comorbid migraine and depression: a meta-analysis.Journal of translational medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Botulinum Toxin vs. Placebo in Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Single-DoseToxins · 2025Trial
- Clinical efficacy of escitalopram combined with botulinum toxin A in patients with generalized anxiety disorder and comorbid headache.Psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Treatment of chronic migraine with Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA): Development, insights, and impact.Medicine · 2023Trial
- Effects of lidocaine incorporation (without epinephrine) on pain and 2-week complications of botulinum toxin: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Trial
- Reduction in the severity and duration of headache following fremanezumab treatment in patients with episodic and chronic migraine.Headache · 2021Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the effects of botulinum toxin for prevention of migraine in adults.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and trial registries. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of botulinum toxin compared with placebo, active treatment or clinically relevant different dose for adults with chronic or episodic migraine, with or without the additional diagnosis of medication overuse headache. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Cochrane methods were used to review double-blind RCTs. Twelve week post-treatment time-point data was analysed.
resultsTwenty-eight trials (n=4190) were included. Trial quality was mixed. Botulinum toxin treatment resulted in reduced frequency of -2.0 migraine days/month (95% CI -2.8 to -1.1, n=1384) in chronic migraineurs compared with placebo. An improvement was seen in migraine severity, measured on a numerical rating scale 0 to 10 with 10 being maximal pain, of -2.70 cm (95% CI -3.31 to -2.09, n=75) and -4.9 cm (95% CI -6.56 to -3.24, n=32) for chronic and episodic migraine respectively. Botulinum toxin had a relative risk of treatment related adverse events twice that of placebo, but a reduced risk compared with active comparators (relative risk 0.76, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.98) and a low withdrawal rate (3%). Although individual trials reported non-inferiority to oral treatments, insufficient data were available for meta-analysis of effectiveness outcomes.
conclusionsIn chronic migraine, botulinum toxin reduces migraine frequency by 2 days/month and has a favourable safety profile. Inclusion of medication overuse headache does not preclude its effectiveness. Evidence to support or refute efficacy in episodic migraine was not identified.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.