A product that combines extracts of Tanacetum parthenium, commonly known as feverfew, with Salix alba, also called white willow, appears to be effective in reducing the frequency, severity and duration of migraine attacks, according to the results of a small study reported by a research team based in France.

The herbal combination goes by the commercial name of Mig-RL and is marketed by Naturveda-VitroBio Research Institute, the French company that sponsored the study. Recent reports have suggested that these products affect some of the same cell targets as conventional medications do.

In the study, reported in the Journal Clinical Drug Investigation, Dr. R. Shrivastava, from Issoire, and colleagues enrolled 12 patients with migraine who were treated with Mig-RL for 12 weeks. Two Mig-RL capsules were given twice daily. Two patients dropped out of the study - one had almost continuous headache and was referred for neurologic evaluation, the other refused to comply with the study protocol.

Migraine frequency was reduced by 57.2 percent at 6 weeks and by 61.7 percent at 12 weeks in 9 of 10 patients. Seventy percent of the patients experienced a 50 percent or greater reduction in headache frequency.

Reductions in attack intensity of 38.7 and 62.6 percent were noted in 10 of 10 patients at 6 and 12 weeks, respectively. Similarly, treatment with Mig-RL led to significant reductions in attack duration.

Mig-RL therapy was also tied to improvements in quality of life and the medicine was well tolerated and not associated with any side effects.

The encouraging results suggest that a larger, placebo-controlled randomized trial of Mig-RL is warranted, the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Clinical Drug Investigation, May 2006.