Impact of a 12-week olfactory training programme in women with migraine with aura: protocol for a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a leading cause of disability and suffering worldwide. However, conventional pharmacological migraine preventive therapies are often challenging and accompanied by adverse effects. Recently, structured odour exposure has shown to successfully increase pain thresholds in patients with chronic back pain. Despite the importance of the olfactory system in migraine, there are no studies investigating the impact of structured odour exposure in patients with migraine.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial will be conducted at the Headache Clinic of the University Pain Center at TU Dresden, Germany and aims at investigating the impact of a 12-week structured exposure to odours in women with migraine. Fifty-four women between 18 and 55 years with migraine with aura will be recruited and randomised to training with odours and odourless training. The primary outcomes are mechanical and electrical pain thresholds. Secondary outcomes comprise olfactory threshold and the number of headache days. Other exploratory measurements are headache associated pain intensity, acute analgesic intake, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and quality of life. Additionally, this protocol assesses neuroanatomical and neurofunctional changes associated with the 12-week olfactory training. Data analysis will be executed on the basis of the general linear model considering repeated measurements.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approvals were obtained from the Ethics Board of the TU Dresden (Protocol No. BO-EK-353082020). Participation will only be possible after written informed consent is provided. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00027399.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number071443
Number of pages10
JournalBMJ open
Volume13 (2023)
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC10335595
Scopus 85164258069
ORCID /0000-0002-4897-1119/work/149439255
ORCID /0000-0003-1311-8000/work/158767578

Keywords

Keywords

  • Humans, Female, Quality of Life, Olfactory Training, Migraine with Aura/therapy, Treatment Outcome, Migraine Disorders/drug therapy, Double-Blind Method, Headache, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Library keywords