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An End to the Yom Kippur (and Ramadan) Headache

NCT ID: NCT00263094

Last Updated: 2006-01-27

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

220 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2004-09-30

Study Completion Date

2004-11-30

Brief Summary

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Fasting is a known trigger for headache. People who fast to comply with religious edict have been shown to be prone to headache which becomes more likely to occur with increasing length of fasting, and in people prone to headache. This has been documented as 'Yom Kippur Headache' and 'First of Ramadan Headache.' We performed a study to test the hypothesis that Rofecoxib, a pain medicine and anti-inflammatory, with a prolonged duration of action would prevent or attenuate headache when taken just prior to the complete (no food or drink) 25 hour fast of Yom Kippur.

Detailed Description

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Introduction: Religious fasting is associated with headache. This has been documented as 'Yom Kippur Headache' and ' First- of - Ramadan Headache.' The Cox2 inhibitor, rofecoxib, has been reported effective in preventing perimenstrual migraine and in preventing recurrence of migraine. Given its 17 hour half-life, we undertook this study to see whether 50mg rofecoxib taken just prior to the 25 hour Yom Kippur fast would be effective in preventing headache.

Methods: We performed a double blind randomized prospective trial of rofecoxib 50mg vs placebo, taken just prior to the onset of fasting, Yom Kippur 2004. Healthy adults aged 18 - 65 were enrolled from the community and from hospital staff. Subjects completed a demographic data form and questions regarding headache history and a post-fast survey on headache during the fast, headache intensity, general ease of fasting and side effects.

Results: We sent out 170 forms of which 105 were completed and returned. Of those subjects receiving rofecoxib (n=53), ten or 18.9% vs 34 or 65.4 % of the placebo group (n=52) had headache at some point during the fast (p\<.0001). Severity of headache in the treatment group was significantly less for the treatment group (3.45 vs 6.29 on a visual analog scale of 10 (p = .009)). None of those receiving rofecoxib reported a 'more difficult than usual fast' whereas the distribution of difficult to easy fast among the placebo group was more even.

Conclusion: Rofecoxib 50mg taken prior to a twenty five hour ritual fast prevents and attenuates fasting headache.

Conditions

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Headache

Keywords

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Fasting Headache Cox 2 Inhibitors Pain Prophylaxis

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Interventions

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Rofecoxib

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* History of fasting headache
* Age 18-65
* Intention to fast on Yom Kippur
* History of Fasting on Yom Kippur

Exclusion Criteria

* Pregnant or Nursing Women
* Known allergy to NSAID type medication
* History of chronic illness including heart, kidney, liver or peptic ulcer disease, hypertension, diabetes, lung disease including asthma, or a history of gastrointestinal bleeding.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Sheba Medical Center

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Principal Investigators

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Michael J Drescher, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Hartford Hospital

Locations

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Sheba Medical Center

Tel Litwinsky, , Israel

Site Status

Countries

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Israel

References

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Mosek A, Korczyn AD. Yom Kippur headache. Neurology. 1995 Nov;45(11):1953-5. doi: 10.1212/wnl.45.11.1953.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 7501139 (View on PubMed)

Awada A, al Jumah M. The first-of-Ramadan headache. Headache. 1999 Jul-Aug;39(7):490-3. doi: 10.1046/j.1526-4610.1999.3907490.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11279933 (View on PubMed)

Von Seggern RL, Mannix LK, Adelman JU. Rofecoxib in the prevention of perimenstrual migraine: an open-label pilot trial. Headache. 2004 Feb;44(2):160-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2004.04033.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14756855 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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SHEBA-04-3395-MD-CTIL

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id