Novelty in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache

Abstract

Frequent episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) is a serious medical problem that is primarily due to its high prevalence. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) whose efficiency is determined by the rapid and complete regression of cephalgia are primarily used to relieve an ETTH attack. One of the ways to enhance the effect of NSAIDs is their combination with agents that accelerate their absorption or potentiate their action, with caffeine in particular; however, the use of combination agents is limited by a risk for drug-induced headache. A step on the road to the design of effective and safe analgesics has been the development of the combination drug Novigan that contains ibuprofen (400 mg) and the spasmolytics pitofenone (5 mg) and fenpiverinium (0.1 mg).

Objective: to study the efficacy of Novigan versus ibuprofen 400 mg in relieving an ETTH attack.

Subjects and methods. Fifty patients (mean age 37.1±10.9 years) with frequent ETTH that met the criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition, were examined. For relief of ETTH attacks, 30 patients used Novigan and 20 took ibuprofen in a dose of 400 mg.

Results. There was a significant reduction in the intensity of cephalgia 49.9±35.8 and 68.2±45.9 min after drug administration in the Novigan and ibuprofen 400 mg groups, respectively (p = 0.007). The proportion of respondents was higher in the Novigan group (73.3%) than that in the ibuprofen 400 mg group (60%), which is close to the statistically significant difference (p = 0.085). The efficacy predictors were less pain intensity (p < 0.001) and a shorter time after onset (p < 0.001) in the ibuprofen 400 mg group at administration of the drug and only less pain intensity in the Novigan group at that moment (p = 0.07).

Conclusion. Novigan is a combination analgesic that rapidly and effectively relieves an ETTH attack, including that of high intensity, as well as extended ETTH attack.