THURSDAY, Aug. 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Onabotulinumtoxin A is effective in decreasing headache frequency and disability of chronic migraine in pediatric patients, according to a study published online July 8 in Pediatric Neurology.
Lauren Vilardo, M.D., from the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and colleagues conducted a survey of 45 young patients (12 to 22 years) with chronic migraine receiving onabotulinumtoxin A treatments as part of a Phase II Research Evaluating Migraine Prophylaxis Therapy protocol at the Children's National Headache Clinic.
The researchers found that 12 patients (27 percent) had a >50 percent reduction in headache days after one treatment. Following two treatments, one-third (33 percent) of patients with available data had a >50 percent decrease in headache days. Among patients with daily chronic migraine, six of 27 patients (22 percent) had a >50 percent reduction in headache days after the first treatment. In the entire cohort, mean headache disability, measured by the Headache Impact Test, decreased after the first four treatments; disability decreased after the second and third treatments in patients with chronic daily migraine.
"Our study helps address an important evidence gap," co-senior author Jeffrey Strelzik, M.D., also from the George Washington University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "By demonstrating reductions in both headache frequency and disability, these findings contribute to the growing body of research supporting the use of onabotulinumtoxin A in appropriately selected pediatric patients."
