[The treatment of migraine and tension headaches with amitriptyline (author's transl)].

Study of 100 patients followed up for over one year, including 26 cases of migraine (4 classical migraine) and 74 cases of tension headache associated or not with muscular tension. With dihydroergotamin alone 16 cases of migraine, and with amitriptyline alone 17 cases experienced excellent to fair relief, while with the association of both drugs, 21 excellent results were obtained. Among tension headaches patients, 53 were relieved with amitriptyline alone, 56 when DHE was added. The activity of amitriptyline in lower dosages is very likely not an anti-depressant one, but connected with catecholamines metabolism. Dosage must be adjusted in each individual case. The efficiency of DHE in tension headaches suggest a possible part of vaso-motor mechanisms in such cases.