Abstract

Migraine is a common, recurrent and disabling brain disorder with a strong inherited component. The goals of acute therapy of migraine are rapid relief of pain without recurrence, restoration of the patient’s ability to function, and minimal or no side effects. It is important to educate migraine patients and to discuss about their plan for therapy. Many migraine specific and nonspecific medications are used for acute therapy. Preventive therapy plays an important role in migraine management, and broad range of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical options exist. Doctors must consider patient’s migraine characteristics, comorbidity, contraindication, and side effect profiles when choosing preventive drugs. Medication overuse is an important concern in migraine therapeutics and needs to be identified and managed. I tried to review the general principles and strategies in the acute and preventive treatment of migraine.