Zonisamide is a sulfonamide anticonvulsant and is used to treat partial seizures alongside other medicines in epilepsy. While the drug has been used for off-label prevention of migraine attacks in children, how effective it is remains unclear.
The researchers behind the current study thus examined zonisamide for reducing headache days per month in pediatric patients with migraine. To do so, they analyzed data from 256 pediatric patients with a median age of 15 years old who had migraine and were using zonisamide as a preventative measure for more than six weeks.
They split the patients into three groups according to how long they took the medication before a follow-up visit with a physician. Those in the first group followed up after one month, those in the second group: within 2-6 months, and the third group: after six months.
At the first follow-up, the median number of headache days per month fell from 18 to six. The subgroup following up within 2-6 months experienced the largest reduction with a median decrease of six headache days per month.
The data indicated that zonisamide was most effective following a minimum two months of use, noted study author, Anisa Kelley, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, in a press release.
"It's very exciting that we may have an effective way to treat difficult migraine disease in children and teens, however it's important to note that our study did have limitations," said Kelley.
"For instance, our study did not compare people taking the medication to people who did not take the medication. Future studies are needed with control groups to confirm our results,” she added.
Sources: Science Daily, American Academy of Neurology