Table 2.

Summary of drugs for the short-term prophylaxis of menstrual migraine. RCT indicates randomized controlled trial.

Drug	Available Studies	Treatment Protocol	Main Findings
NSAIDs
Naproxen	1 RCT [64]	500 mg twice daily for 14 days for 3 cycles	Significant reduction in number, duration, and severity of attacks compared with placebo only during the 2nd and 3rd cycle
Nimesulide	1 RCT [65]	100 mg thrice daily for 10 days for 3 cycles	Significant reduction in pain intensity and duration compared with placebo during all the cycles
Triptans
Frovatriptan	2 RCTs, 1 open-label extension [66,67,68]	2.5 mg daily or twice daily for 6 days	Significant reduction in headache days, headache intensity, headache duration, and use of rescue medication; twice daily formulation better than daily formulation
Naratriptan	1 RCT [70]	1 mg or 2.5 mg twice daily for 5 days for 3 cycles	Significant reduction in headache days, headache intensity, headache duration, and use of rescue medication; significant improvement in quality of life; 2.5 mg dose better than 1 mg dose
Zolmitriptan	1 RCT [71]	2.5 mg twice or thrice daily for 7 days for 3 cycles	Significant reduction in headache days, pain recurrence, and rescue medication with both doses
Hormone supplementation
Percutaneous estradiol	3 RCTs [75,76,77]	7–10 days for 2–3 cycles	Significant reduction in headache days and acute medication use, only during the treatment, with subsequent rebound headache; good tolerability profile
Transdermal 17 β-estradiol	1 RCTs [78]	6 days for 3 cycles	Estradiol effective only if synchronized with menstruation
Conjugated equine estrogens	1 Open-label [74]	7 days (hormone-free interval of a combined contraceptive) for 2 cycles	At least 50% reduction in monthly headache days in all treated women; improvement in menstrual symptoms