Trial of Nortriptyline and Topiramate in the Initial Treatment of Vestibular Migraine

Stopped early · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Migraine Disorders

In brief

The investigators' study plans to randomize treatment naive patients with vestibular migraine to an 8 week trial of an escalating dose of either nortriptyline or topiramate followed by an 8 week crossover to the other drug if patient is willing, if patient wants to stay on first medication we will just continue to follow. During the first 8 weeks if there is an intolerance to the first drug they can be switched to the other drug at any point and then followed on that medication for the remainder of the study. Response to therapy will be quantified by the Migraine Specific Quality of Life (MSQ) and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) administered at multiple time points during the study. Three groups of patients that will be eligible for the study will include 1)Patients with Neuhauser dVM; 2)Patients with pVM; and 3) Patients with dizziness that falls outside the Neuhauser criteria (non-Neuhauser vestibular migraine or nNVM). The investigators' hypothesis is that even patients with dizziness outside of the Neuhauser dVM and pVM spectrum will respond to treatment for vestibular migraine, and thus likely have migraine as a cause of their dizziness. Previous research by our group has suggested that such patients do in fact respond to migraine therapy1. A second goal of the study is to evaluate the comparative efficacy of nortriptyline and topiramate in the treatment of these three subgroups of patients with vestibular migraine.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02169830

Run by

St. Louis University

People needed

35

Starts

2014-08-22

Expected to finish

2019-10-30

Last updated by the study team

2021-04-23

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 70. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Men and women aged 18 to 70 with untreated vestibular migraine variant as diagnosed by history.

You may not qualify if…

• Patients with allergies to nortriptyline or topiramate and their analogs or medication interactions that preclude their use.
• Patients under the care of a psychiatrist.
• Patients who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
• Patients taking more than 5 prescription medications.
• Patients with cancer.
• Patient has a history of immunodeficiency.
• Patient has a history of substance abuse within the preceding 6 months prior to screening.
• Patient has used an investigational drug or device in the the 3 months prior to screening.
• Patient is using marijuana for medical or other uses.
• Patient has any other clinically significant illness or medical condition that, in the investigator's opinion, would prohibit the subject from participating in the study.
• Patient with traumatic brain injury.
• Patients taking Nortriptyline, MAOIs
• Patients with liver or kidney dysfunction or glaucoma
• Due to know drug interactions, patients taking the following medications will be excluded.
• Nortriptyline: monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) such as phenelzine. Patients on oral contraceptives will be asked to use a secondary method as nortriptyline can reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
• Topiramate: acetazolamide (kidney stones), digoxin
• Exclude subjects with liver dysfunction, kidney dysfunction and glaucoma (per the risks associated with topiramate).

Where it is running

• Saint Louis University — St Louis, Missouri, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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