Viaprene Supplement Facts

Daily Dosage: As a dietary supplement, take one capsule in the morning with 8 ounces of water. 45-60 days of continuous use is necessary for optimum results.

Viaprene Research:

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)- This medicinal plant contains parthenolide, an active ingredient which can be quite beneficial to patients suffering from migraines. A double-blind, placebo controlled trial showed that patients who took feverfew for four months experienced a reduction in the mean number and severity of attacks, the degree of vomiting, and visual analogue scores were significantly improved without the incidence of serious side-effects (1).

Another trial showed that four months of feverfew supplementation reduced the number of attacks form 4.79 per month to 1.9 per month (2). Feverfew is also effective in treating a migraine attack and when taken in the mild pain phase, 48% of subjects were pain free within two hours (3). A systematic review of trials concluded that feverfew is an effective and safe preventative treatment for migraines (4).

Magnesium- Mitochondrial metabolism may play a role in migraines, and supplements like magnesium which influence the mitochondria have shown effectiveness in some clinical trials (5). An analysis of evidence based information concluded that magnesium is an effective prophylactic treatment for migraine (6).

In children, oral magnesium treatment can significantly reduce the number of headache days (7). A clinical study showed that magnesium was superior to placebo in treating migrainous aura at 30 and 60 minutes after administration (8). Magnesium levels measured in white blood cells are significantly lower in patients with recurrent migraines when compared to healthy controls (9).

Butterbur root (Petasites hybridus)- Products of this medicinal plant must be certified and labeled as hepatotoxic PA-free. In a randomized, placebo controlled trial, butterbur exhibited superior efficacy over placebo in reducing migraines in adults (12).

A clinical study in children and adolescents showed that four months of treatment with a butterbur extract reduced the frequency of migraine attacks by at least 50% in 78% of patients (13). Data from animal research and clinical studies indicate butterbur extract is a safe treatment for humans (14).

Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2)- Also important for mitochondrial function, riboflavin has been shown to reduce the incidence of migraines. An open trial demonstrated that supplementation with riboflavin for 3 months reduced the frequency of attacks from 4 to 2 days per month and significantly decreased the amount of abortive anti-migraine medications taken (15).

A randomized controlled trial showed that migraines were reduced at least 50% in frequency by 59% of patients who took riboflavin for three months (16). Riboflavin appears to work on a different pathway than beta-blocker medications that are prescribed for migraine sufferers (17).

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)- Supplementation with Co Q10 may benefit migraine patients by enhancing mitochondria function (18). An open label trial of Co Q10 treatment showed that 61.3% of patients had a greater than 50% reduction in number of days with migraine headache (19).

A follow-up study demonstrated that CoQ10 was superior to placebo for attack-frequency, headache-days and days-with-nausea in the third treatment month and was well tolerated (20).

References:

1. Murphy JJ, Heptinstall S, Mitchell JR. Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of feverfew in migraine prevention. Lancet 1988 Jul 23;2(8604):189-92.

2. Diener HC et al. Efficacy and safety of 6.25 mg t.i.d. feverfew CO2-extract (MIG-99) in migraine prevention--a randomized, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled study. Cephalalgia 2005 Nov;25(11):1031-41.

3. Cady RK et al. Gelstat Migraine (sublingually administered feverfew and ginger compound) for acute treatment of migraine when administered during the mild pain phase. Med Sci Monit 2005 Sep;11(9):PI65-9. Epub 2005 Aug 26.

4. Ernst E, Pittler MH. The efficacy and safety of feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.): an update of a systematic review. Public Health Nutr 2000 Dec;3(4A):509-14.

5. Sandor PS, Afra J. Nonpharmacologic treatment of migraine. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2005 Jun;9(3):202-5.

6. Rios J, Passe MM. Evidenced-based use of botanicals, minerals, and vitamins in the prophylactic treatment of migraines. J Am Acad Nurse Pract 2004 Jun;16(6):251-6.

7. Wang F et al. Oral magnesium oxide prophylaxis of frequent migrainous headache in children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Headache 2003 Jun;43(6):601-10.

8. Bigal ME, Bordini CA, Speciali JG. [Efficacy of three drugs in the treatment of migrainous aura: a randomized placebo-controlled study] Arg Neuropsiquiatr 2002 Jun;60(2-B):406-9.

9. Thomas J et al. Free and total magnesium in lymphocytes of migraine patients - effect of magnesium-rich mineral water intake. Clin Chim Acta 2000 May;295(1-2):63-75.

10. Silkina IV et al. [Gabaergic mechanism of cerebrovascular and neuroprotective effects of afobazole and picamilon] Eksp Klin Farmakol 2005 Jan-Feb;68(1):20-4.

11. Mirzoian RS, Gan’shina TS. [The new cerebrovascular preparation pikamilon] Farmakol Toksikol 1989 Jan-Feb;52(1):23-6.

12. Lipton RB et al. Petasites hybridus root (butterbur) is an effective preventive treatment for migraine. Neurology 2004 Dec 28;63(12):2240-4.

13. Pothmann R, Danesch U. Migraine prevention in children and adolescents: results of an open study with a special butterbur root extract. Headache 2005 Mar;45(3):196-203.

14. Danesch U, Rittinghausen R. Safety of a patented special butterbur root extract for migraine prevention. Headache 2003 Jan;43(1):76-8.

15. Boehnke C et al. High-dose riboflavin treatment is efficacious in migraine prophylaxis: an open study in a tertiary care centre. Eur J Neurol 2004 Jul;11(7):475-7.

16. Schoenen J, Jacquy J, Lenaerts M. Effectiveness of high-dose riboflavin in migraine prophylaxis. A randomized controlled trial. Neurology 1998 Feb;50(2):466-70.

17. Sandor PS et al. Prophylactic treatment of migraine with beta-blockers and riboflavin: differential effects on the intensity dependence of auditory evoked cortical potentials. Headache 2000 Jan;40(1):30-5.

18. Littarru GP, Tiano L. Clinical aspects of coenzyme Q10: an update. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2005 Nov;8(6):641-6.

19. Rozen TD et al. Open label trial of coenzyme Q10 as a migraine preventive. Cephalalgia 2002 Mar;22(2):137-41.

20. Sandor PS et al. Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology 2005 Feb 22;64(4):713-5.