A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in adult patients with migraine

Background: Vitamin D levels have been linked to certain pain states, including migraine. This study investigated whether vitamin D supplementation would be beneficial for adult patients with migraine (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01695460). Methods: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled parallel trial was conducted in migraine patients (36 women and 12 men, 18-65 years of age). A 4-week baseline period was conducted before randomization to 24 weeks of treatment. Participants were assigned to receive D3-Vitamin (n = 24, 18 women and 6 men, 100 mu g/day D3-Vitamin) or placebo (n = 24, 18 women and 6 men). Migraine attacks and related symptoms were assessed by self-reported diaries. The response rate (i.e. experiencing a 50% or greater reduction in migraine frequency from baseline to week 24), change in migraine severity, and number of migraine days were recorded. Changes in migraine-related symptoms, HIT-6 (TM) scores, and pain sensitivity tests (pressure pain threshold and temporal summation) were also evaluated. Serum levels of both 25 (OH)D and 1,25 (OH)(2)D were assessed from baseline to week 24. Results: The number of headache days changed from 6.14 +/- 3.60 in the treatment group and 5.72 +/- 4.52 in the placebo group at baseline to 3.28 +/- 3.24 and 4.93 +/- 3.24 by the end of the trial, respectively. Migraine patients on D3-Vitamin demonstrated a significant decrease (p < .001) in migraine frequency from baseline to week 24 compared with placebo. However, migraine severity, pressure pain thresholds, or temporal summation did not show a significant change. 25(OH)D levels increased significantly for the D3-Vitamin group during the first 12 weeks of treatment. There was no significant change in 1,25(OH)(2)D. No side-effects were reported or noted. Conclusions: D3-Vitamin was superior to placebo in reducing migraine days in migraine patients. Larger studies are required to confirm that vitamin D-3 might be one of the prophylactic options for adult patients with migraine.