Prednisone vs. placebo in withdrawal therapy following medication overuse headache.

ABSTRACT

This proof-of-concept study evaluated the efficacy of prednisone for the treatment of withdrawal symptoms in patients with medication overuse headache (MOH) in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. Twenty patients were randomized and underwent in-patient withdrawal therapy. The total number of hours with severe or moderate headache within the first 72 and 120 h was significantly lower in the prednisone group. The results show that prednisone might be effective in the treatment of medication withdrawal headache.