Skip to content

Nutrition for Chronic Daily Headache

CompletedNot applicableNCT01157208
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.

This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.

Brief summary (from the registry)

The purpose of this study is: 1) To assess the feasibility of implementing a clinical trial comparing two potentially analgesic dietary interventions in patients with chronic daily headache (CDH) and 2)To assess the preliminary efficacy of the dietary interventions on headache frequency and severity and 3) to assess the impact of the diet on the percentage of omega-6 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) in total HUFA in whole blood. During a 6-week baseline phase, eligible individuals with CDH will complete web-based daily diaries, self-report questionnaires, and nutrient intake assessments. Before randomization to one of the two intervention groups, blood will be collected to measure baseline nutritional biomarkers. Targeted dietary advice will be administered and foods will be provided throughout the 12-week intervention phase. Samples for biomarkers will be collected every 4 weeks during the intervention. Participants will continue recording headache characteristics with a daily headache diary. At the conclusion of the intervention, participants will provide complete follow-up assessments and blood for nutritional biomarker measurement.

Study details

Official title
Dietary Interventions for Chronic Daily Headache (CDH): A Feasibility Study,
Conditions
  • Chronic Daily Headache
Interventions
  • Other: Diet A
  • Other: Diet B
Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Collaborators
Mayday Fund
Start date
2009-07
Primary completion
2011-11
Sex
All
Age range
from 18 Years
Results posted
No results posted in this snapshot
Countries
United States
Total sites listed
1

Eligibility criteria

Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * 18 years of age and older * either gender * meeting the 2004 International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD - II) criteria for the following forms of CDH (15 or more headache days per month and a headache history of more than two years with chronic migraine, transformed episodic migraine into CDH, chronic tension-type headache and new persistent daily headache) * under the care of a neurologist * willing and able to document headache characteristics and use of medications, as well as complete the assessment instruments * able to come in for 3 dietitian-administered dietary counseling sessions over 12 weeks * able to speak and understand English Exclusion Criteria: * analgesic rebound headache * hemicrania continua * drug-induced headache * post-traumatic headache * significant, symptomatic uncontrolled psychosis * undergoing current treatment for a major medical illness such as malignancy, autoimmune or immune deficiency disorder * pregnancy * clotting disorders * history of cranial or neck surgery within two years * vasculitis * chronic subdural hematoma * history of meningitis * history of subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage * history of eating disorder * regular use of supplemental omega-3 fatty acids or gamma-linolenic acid

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01157208