Candesartan was shown to be effective for migraine prophylaxis in a randomized double blind cross-over study published in 2003. The drug is now widely used for this purpose in many countries, although no confirmatory study has been published. The aims of the present study are: 1) to see if the results in the first candesartan study can be replicated in a new patient population, including patients with chronic migraine, and, 2) to perform a head-to-head comparison of candesartan 16 mg/day with standard treatment with propranolol 160 mg slow release. We also intend to study whether responsiveness to these drugs may be related to heart rate variability and baroreceptor sensitivity.
The main aim of the present study is to compare candesartan with propranolol for migraine prophylaxis.