Treatment of migraine attacks with an analgesic combination (Mersyndol).

The relief of acute migraine attacks with an analgesic/antihistamine combination containing paracetamol, codeine phosphate, doxylamine succinate and caffeine (Mersyndol) compared with that achieved with a placebo has been studied in a double-blind, crossover trial. Mersyndol emerged as significantly better than placebo in the complete relief of migraine pain, and was clearly superior to placebo in partially relieving the pain of migraine. These results suggest that it could be a useful alternative to ergotamine, and a comparative trial with ergotamine is suggested. Side effects with this combination were fairly common but mild, and consisted mainly of drowsiness caused by the antihistamine component.