By Karla Gale

ORLANDO, Fla., Mar 09 (Reuters Health) - A topical anesthetic applied to the forehead during a migraine headache appears to provide pain relief, researchers said on Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, held in Orlando, Florida.

In a new study, Dr. Frederick Freitag and colleagues of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, conducted a trial including 40 patients with migraine. Half the patients were given a cream containing the anesthetic lidocaine and half were given an inactive placebo cream to put on their forehead during a migraine.

Among those using lidocaine, pain rated on a 10-point scale declined from about 7 at the beginning of the headache to less than 6 at 2 hours and less than 2 at 8 hours. Seven patients were pain free at the 2-hour point.

For those in the placebo group, the pain level was just over 7 and was only slightly lower at 2 hours, with none of these patients pain free at that point. Eight hours after the study started, the patients using the placebo still had pain scores of about 5 to 6.

Some patients using lidocaine reported a tingling or burning sensation, but there were no significant side effects associated with the treatment.

According to Freitag, previous studies have shown giving lidocaine intravenously or via nose drops can relieve migraine pain, most likely by desensitizing the trigeminal nerve--one of a pair of nerves that connects to the mouth, teeth, face and nasal cavities.

One company--which collaborated on the current study--is testing an experimental treatment for migraine using a lidocaine patch, Freitag reported. Such a patch could be used on its own or in addition to other medications, he explained. "When patients get a migraine attack, it takes a while for the normal oral medication to work, while this provides relief very quickly," he noted.

Related MEDLINEplus Pages:

• Headache and Migraine