Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand Vol 87, No 12:DECEMBER 2004 0125-2208 87 12 2004 Dec Flunarizine for Prophylactic Treatment of Childhood Migraine 1466 EN Anannit Visudtibhan Apasri Lusawat Surang Chiemchanya Pongsakdi Visudhiphan Original Article To determine the effectiveness of flunarizine for migraine prophylaxis in children.Patients and Method: Children aged between 7 and 15 years who had the indication for prophylactic treatment of migraine were recruited into a prospective study at the Department of Pediatrics, Ramathibodi Hospital, from January 1st to December 31st 1999. After verbal consent was obtained, flunarizine was administered either at 5-mg daily in those who had never received it or at 10-mg daily in those who previously took this drug within one year. Serial evaluation for the severity of migraine including duration, intensity, and frequency of headache attacks was performed every 2 weeks for 6 months.Results: Twenty-one children (10 boys, 11 girls) with a mean age of 11.3 + 2.48 years (range 7-15 years) were enrolled in the study. There were ten children who had migraine with aura. Initially, 5-mg daily and 10-mg daily of flunarizine were administered in 19 and 2 patients respectively. The dosage was increased to 10-mg daily after two weeks in 5 patients because of the unresponsiveness to the initial dose. Improvement was observed in 14 patients (66%) including 13 of 14 patients who received 5-mg daily and 1 of 7 patients who received 10 mg daily. Five patients (23%) had no recurrent attack. Nine patients (42%) had more than 50%-reduction of frequency of migraine and 3 of these had either shorter duration or less intensity of the attack. Clinical improvement was observed between 2 and 4 weeks after initiation of treatment. There was no adverse effect observed.Conclusion: This is a preliminary result demonstrating that flunarizine is one of the effective drugs for migraine prophylaxis in children.Keywords: Flunarizine, Migraine, Headach Children aged between 7 and 15 years who had the indication for prophylactic treatment of migraine were recruited into a prospective study at the Department of Pediatrics, Ramathibodi Hospital, from January 1st to December 31st 1999. After verbal consent was obtained, flunarizine was administered either at 5-mg daily in those who had never received it or at 10-mg daily in those who previously took this drug within one year. Serial evaluation for the severity of migraine including duration, intensity, and frequency of headache attacks was performed every 2 weeks for 6 months. Twenty-one children (10 boys, 11 girls) with a mean age of 11.3 + 2.48 years (range 7-15 years) were enrolled in the study. There were ten children who had migraine with aura. Initially, 5-mg daily and 10-mg daily of flunarizine were administered in 19 and 2 patients respectively. The dosage was increased to 10-mg daily after two weeks in 5 patients because of the unresponsiveness to the initial dose. Improvement was observed in 14 patients (66%) including 13 of 14 patients who received 5-mg daily and 1 of 7 patients who received 10 mg daily. Five patients (23%) had no recurrent attack. Nine patients (42%) had more than 50%-reduction of frequency of migraine and 3 of these had either shorter duration or less intensity of the attack. Clinical improvement was observed between 2 and 4 weeks after initiation of treatment. There was no adverse effect observed. This is a preliminary result demonstrating that flunarizine is one of the effective drugs for migraine prophylaxis in children. Flunarizine Migraine Headache Children