Migraine clinical trials at UCSF

3 research studies open to eligible people

A migraine is a severe headache that can cause pain and other symptoms. UCSF is studying how a medicine called Emgality affects breastmilk and babies. Another study looks at how this medicine helps people with dizziness from migraines. UCSF is also comparing treatments for kids with headaches.

Showing trials for

  • Galcanezumab for Vestibular Migraine

    open to eligible people ages 18-75

    Vestibular migraine (VM) has been recognized a distinct subtype of migraine that causes dizziness as the predominant symptom. Criteria for diagnosis have been adopted by the Barany Society. Previous epidemiological research from the investigators has shown that VM affects 2.7% of the adult population of the United States. Yet, despite its high prevalence, there is very little data upon which to guide treatment decisions. A Cochrane review in 2015 concluded that there were no placebo controlled trials in VM, and none have been done since then. The investigators recently developed and validated a patient reported outcome tool for VM called VM-PATHI (VM- Patient Assessment Tool and Handicap Inventory). Anecdotal evidence suggests that CGRP antagonists, such as Galcanezumab, may be effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms in VM. Therefore, the investigators propose a pilot study of changes in VM-PATHI scores, comparing active treatment (Galcanezumab) to placebo arms.

    San Francisco, California

  • Responding With Evidence and Access for Childhood Headaches

    open to eligible people ages 10-17

    This comparative effectiveness study will clarify current first-line preventive treatment approaches for use by neurologists, psychologists, and primary care providers in the context of real world care, and will demonstrate the feasibility of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) via telehealth for youth with migraine. The focus is on applying evidence-based care and enhancing access to it. CBT via telehealth while taking a clinically-prescribed, pill-based prevention therapy (amitriptyline) will be compared to CBT via telehealth alone.

    San Francisco, California and other locations

  • Emgality for Migraine in Breastmilk

    open to eligible females ages 18-45

    The goal of this project is to evaluate galcanezumab transfer into maternal breastmilk, and to evaluate infant (growth, development, constipation, colic, infections) and maternal (headache) outcomes for dyads in which the mother was treated with galcanezumab and to compare outcomes for infants who were or were not breastfed after maternal treatment. In this prospective observational study, the study team proposes to prospectively collect serial milk samples from 30 adult women who are treated with galcanezumab for migraine. Mothers who are interested in participating will be connected with us, the main clinical site, by neurologists across the USA. Mothers must carry a diagnosis of migraine, be aged 18-45 years, and be between 14 days and 9 months postpartum, and still nursing, at the time of enrollment. This study will fill a significant unmet need as women of childbearing potential are over-represented in the migraine population, and yet they are excluded from clinical trials of migraine treatments during pregnancy and lactation.

    San Francisco, California

Our lead scientists for Migraine research studies include .

Last updated: