[Reserpine in the prevention of migraine and in the therapy of tension-vascular headache].

The results of many researches on migraine pathogenesis and our knowledge of the pharmacological action of reserpine led us to start using it in migraine prophylaxis ten years ago. For this purpose, standardized cycles of twenty administrations--heach dose being of 0.20 mg--were given intravenously; each cycle lasted a period of six to eight weeks. The positive data obtained on 300 patients suffering from severe migraine resulted statistically significant. Then, a double-blind clinical trial was carried out in Turin in agreement with a double-blind biochemical trial carried out in Copenhagen by Fog-Møller, Dalsgaard-Nielsen, Byrndum and Kemp Genefke. The results obtained have confirmed the efficacy of reserpine administered in appropriate doses and enabled the demonstration of its pharmacological mechanism. The results obtained also in "tension-vascular headache" with reserpine treatment were reviewed retrospectively and were highly significant.