A treatment combining pine bark extract with antioxidant vitamins C and E may help to reduce headache frequency and severity among migraine sufferers, results of a preliminary study suggest.

Antioxidants are substances that help prevent cell damage in the body caused by circulating free radicals, which attack molecules crucial for cell function.

To investigate whether antioxidants may benefit people with migraines, Dr Sirichai Chayasirisobhon, from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Anaheim, California, USA, studied twelve patients with a long history of migraines who had failed to respond to headache medications.

All the patients received 10 capsules of an antioxidant formulation consisting of pine bark extract, vitamin C and vitamin E each day for 3 months while continuing to take their headache medications.

The frequency and severity of migraine attacks, as well as their impact on the everyday lives of the participants, were measured at the start and the end of the 3-month study period.

Results revealed that there was an average 50% improvement in migraine disability scores among the participants by the end of the study.

The antioxidant treatment was also associated with around an average 50% fall in the number of "headache days" experienced by the participants and a significant reduction in the severity of the condition.

Dr Chayasirisobhon concluded: "These data suggest that the antioxidant therapy used in this study may be beneficial in the treatment of migraine possibly reducing headache frequency and severity."

He added: "Further clinical investigation into the efficacy [effectiveness] of antioxidant as therapy for chronic migraine is warranted."

The research is published in the current edition of the journal Headache.