A comparison of pharmacological (amitriptyline HCL) and nonpharmacological (cognitive-behavioral) therapies for chronic tension headaches |
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Authors: | K A Holroyd J M Nash J D Pingel G E Cordingley A Jerome |
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Institution: | Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens 45701. |
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Abstract: | Forty-one recurrent tension headache sufferers were randomly assigned to either cognitive-behavioral therapy (administered in a primarily home-based treatment protocol) or to amitriptyline therapy (with dosage individualized at 25, 50, or 75 mg/day). Cognitive-behavioral therapy and amitriptyline each yielded clinically significant improvements in headache activity, both when improvement was assessed with patient daily recordings (56% and 27% reduction in headache index, respectively), and when improvement was assessed with neurologist ratings of clinical improvement (94% and 69% of patients rated at least moderately improved, respectively). In instances where differences in treatment effectiveness were observed (headache index, somatic complaints, perceptions of control of headache activity), cognitive-behavioral therapy yielded somewhat more positive outcomes than did amitriptyline. Neither treatment, however, eliminated headache problems. |
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