Efficacy of Flupirtine Maleate for Tension Headache

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of flupirtine maleate for tension headache.METHODS:By a prospective randomized control study,a total of 84 patients with tension headache were randomized to receive either flupirtine maleate(100 mgt,id)(n = 50) or Bufferin Plus(500 mg,bid)(n = 34) for 7 days.The changes in visual analogue scale(VAS) score,pain remission,cervical muscle tension and tenderness and side effects were compared between the two groups after treatment of 1 week.RESULTS:In flupirtine maleate group(treatment group),the VAS pain score decreased from 7.3 ± 1.76 to 2.03 ± 1.31 on day 7 and the total effective rate in pain remission was 86%,as compared with a VAS score reduction from 7.11 ± 1.98 to 2.19 ± 1.25 and a total effective rate of 82.5% in Bufferin Plus group(control group).No significant differences were observed in VAS pain score and effective rate in pain remission between the two groups(P 0.05),however,flupirtine maleate was significantly better than Bufferin Plus in improving cervical muscle tenderness and relieving muscle tension(P 0.05).CONCLUSION:Flupirtine maleate is as effective as Bufferin Plus in pain remission for patients with tension headache;moreover,it can significantly improve patients' cervical muscle tenderness and muscle tension with few side effects,which thus can serve as a common therapy for tension headache.