Simvastatin and vitamin D for migraine prevention: A randomized, controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

Compared with placebo, simvastatin plus vitamin D reduced migraine days and increased 50% responder rates, with adverse events similar to placebo and good adherence. In the active arm, migraine days decreased by -8.0 (IQR: 215.0 to 22.0) days from baseline to weeks 1-12 (p < 0.001). Eight patients (25%) were responders at 12 weeks and 9 (29%) at 24 weeks. The authors concluded that the combination was effective for migraine prevention, but the independent contributions of simvastatin and vitamin D could not be separated.

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial in adults with episodic migraine recruited from the greater Boston area.

Intervention

For the active arm, participants received oral simvastatin 20 mg twice daily plus vitamin D3 1,000 IU twice daily for 24 weeks.

Key limitation

Small, single-center trial with 28 participants in the active arm and a 24-week follow-up period.

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Original abstract