Migraine Without AuraACTMigraineNCT03461874
ACT Therapy for HF Migraine
A study testing Education of patients, ACT and Pharmacological prophylaxis in people with Migraine Without Aura, run by Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta at 1 site in Italy.
Trial summary
The aim is to compare the effectiveness of a behavioral treatment, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, provided as an add-on to the prophylactic treatment (treatment as usual-TaU) against TaU only on the reduction of monthly headaches frequency over 12 months in a sample of patients with high-frequency migraine… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Migraine Without Aura
- What is being tested?
- Education of patients, ACT and Pharmacological prophylaxis
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 64 participants
- Where
- 1 siteItaly
- Study dates
- 15 Mar 2018to 31 Dec 2022
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age 18-65 years;
- Diagnosis of High Frequency Episodic Migraine without Aura according to the IHS criteria, i.e. 9-14 days with headache per month in the previous three months.
- Patients were stable in terms of pharmacological prophylaxis (for those cases in which it has been prescribed) in the preceding three months.
Who cannot join
- Overuse of medications as defined by the ICHD, i.e. 15 or more NSAIDs per month, 10 or more triptans per month, 10 or more opioids, 10 or more combined compounds per month in the previous three months
- Withdrawal intervention during the 18 months preceding the inclusion in the clinical program
- Known major depression or other psychiatric condition as reported in clinical documentation
- Known epilepsy and idiopathic intracranial hypertension as reported in clinical documentation
- Psychotherapy (any approach) in the previous 18 months
- Previous experience on mindfulness or meditation approaches (lifetime)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Italy1 site
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Neuroalgology Unit
Milan, Milano, 20133
About this study
Official title: Feasibility and Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for High Frequency Episodic Migraine Without Aura
The aim is to compare the effectiveness of a behavioral treatment, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, provided as an add-on to the prophylactic treatment (treatment as usual-TaU) against TaU only on the reduction of monthly headaches frequency over 12 months in a sample of patients with high-frequency migraine without aura (i.e. reporting 9-14 days with headache per month in the previous three months).
ACT will be provided in small groups (5-7 patients each) by specifically trained therapists. The ACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Identifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program.
Read more
TaU will consist of education of patients, followed by pharmacological prophylaxis. Prophylaxis is prescribed based on patients' profile, such as previous failures, contraindications and so on by a neurologist with expertise in headache treatments and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Calcium channel blockers.
The study will be a Phase II Trial; randomized, Open-Label; Multicenter study. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to the two groups: 64 patients (32 per group) will be enrolled to detect an absolute difference of at least 2 migraine days/month in the experimental group (assuming alfa 5%, power 95%, up to 15% loss to follow-up).
Read the detailed description
Background and significance. Patients with Migraine without Aura at high frequency of attacks (9/14 episode per month) are particularly exposed to the risk of medication overuse and chronification of their headache. The treatment of this category of patients can be difficult and they need a multidisciplinary treatment to learn techniques to manage their pain before than a chronic migraine condition has been induced. In recent years, non-pharmacological treatments have been proposed for treating patient with different forms of migraines and, among them, Mindfulness showed to be comparable to pharmacological prophylaxis.
ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) belongs to the third wave of behavioral approaches used for different pathological conditions; the attention is focused on mental processes and the objective of this intervention is the psychological flexibility by cultivating six different positive psychological capacities; acceptance, defusion, sense of self, mindfulness, values, committed actions.
Reports in literature documented the effectiveness of ACT intervention to improve disability and impact in pain conditions and to develop the resilience of patients suffering from different physical or mental clinical problems. People with low resilience are exposed to have more emotional difficulties in terms of depression and anxiety and stress, in particular when they are suffering from chronic pain conditions such as migraine at high frequency, which has high impact on patients life. It has been demonstrated that specific interventions addressed to promote resilience can be helpful to reduce the impact of the disease and of pain. Studies on the use of mindfulness and ACT in particular in chronic pain conditions and migraine have demonstrated how these practices are helpful to tolerate pain, to contain the use of symptomatic medications and to modulate some specific characteristics of migraine patients personality, e.g. rigidity, low acceptance, low resilience.
- Conditions
- Migraine Without Aura
- Being tested
- Education of patients, ACT, Pharmacological prophylaxis
- Keywords
- High-Frequency Migraine without aura, ACT
- Medical subject headings
- Migraine without Aura
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Education of patientsBehavioural
During withdrawal treatment, patients are given recommendations on the approach to the use of drugs for acute treatment of migraine headache and on lifestyle issues. With regard to drugs, patients will be encouraged to restrict use of acute medications to headaches with "severe pain"; i.e., those rated as 8 or greater on a 0-10 (no pain - pain as bad as it could be). In these instances, patients will be instructed to take Eletriptan (40 mg) and/or Almotriptan (12.5 mg) as the first-line treatment, indomethacin (50 mg) as the second line, and will be specifically urged to avoid opioids. With regard to healthy lifestyle issues, patients will be encouraged to engage in moderate physical activity (i.e., 45 minutes twice per week of aerobic exercise), remain well hydrated, consume 3 meals per day, and maintain a regular sleep/wake pattern with at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
ACTBehavioural
ACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Indentifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program.
Patients will be trained in small groups (5-7 patients each) and guided by a specifically trained therapist. They will be educated to practice at home according to the instructions given by the therapist during the sessions.
Pharmacological prophylaxisDrug
Pharmacological prophylaxis will be prescribed based on patients' profile (e.g. previous failures or contraindications), and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Flunarizine. Doses will depend on patients' features, and the doses herein reported are to be intended as approximate ones: Topiramate at the dose of 50mg/day; Propanolol at the dose of 20mg/day; Amytriptiline at the dose of 10mg/day; Flunarizine at the dose of 5mg/day.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment as usual | Active comparator | Education of patients followed by Pharmacological Prophylaxis, prescribed based on patients' profile (e.g. previous failures or contraindications), and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Calcium channel blockers Receives: Behavioral: Education of patients; Drug: Pharmacological prophylaxis |
| Treatment as usual + ACT | Experimental | Education of patients, Pharmacological Prophylaxis prescribed based on patients' profile, and eight group sessions of 90 minutes of ACT.
The ACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Indentifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program. Receives: Behavioral: Education of patients; Behavioral: ACT; Drug: Pharmacological prophylaxis |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Reduction of headaches frequency
Reduction of headaches frequency in patients treated by Pharmacological therapy only compared to patients treated by Pharmacological treatment + ACT
Measured: 12 months
Secondary outcomes (12)
Difference in the proportion of patients achieving the reduction of 50% or more of days with headache compared to baseline
Difference in the proportion of patients achieving the reduction of 50% or more of days with headache compared to baseline in the two groups.
Measured: 12 months
Medications intake
Change in the number of medications for acute headaches treatment consumed.
Measured: 3, 6, 12 months
Change in disability scores, assessed with the Migraine Disability Assessment.
The Migraine Disability Assessment measures the impact of migraine headaches in terms of entirely missed workdays, partially missed workdays, entirely missed homework days, partially missed homework days and days with missed leisure/family activities. The score ranges between 0 and 270, with higher scores indicating higher disability; a score >=21 indicates presence of relevant disability.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in impact scores, assessed with the 6-item Headache Impact Test.
The 6-item Headache Impact Test measures the impact of headaches on patients' ability to function on the job, at school, at home and in social situations. It is composed of six items, which are rated on a six-level scores (never, rarely, sometimes, very often, always, which are respectively assigned a score of 6, 8, 10, 11, 13). The total score is given by the sum of single items score and ranges between 36 and 78, with higher scores indicating worse impact. A total score below 46 indicates no impact; score in the range 50-55 indicates minor impact; score in the range 56-59 indicates substantial impact; score equal or higher than 60 indicate severe impact.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in in anxiety and depression scores, assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale has two separate score for depression and anxiety, each composed of seven items that are rated 0-3. Both anxiety and depression sub-scores are defined as the sum to the response to item and range between 0 and 21, with higher scores indicating worse anxiety and depression problems. A score >=8 is the cut-off for both anxiety and depression caseness.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in allodynia, assessed with the Allodynia Symptom Checklist.
The Allodynia Symptom Checklist is composed of 12 items referring to the presence of allodynia, i.e. the clinical situation in which skin stimulation that ordinarily would not produce pain (e.g. wearing eyeglasses) is experienced as pain in the course of headache. Each item is rated on a 0-2 scale, and therefore the total checklist score is 0-24, with higher score indicating worse allodynia. Total score in the range 0-2 indicate no allodynia, those in the range 3-5 indicate mild allodynia, those in the range 6-8 indicate moderate allodynia and those >= 9 indicate severe allodynia.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in catastrophizing attitude, assessed with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale.
The Pain Catastrophizing Scale is composed of 13 items, that have to be rated between 0 and 4. The total score is given by the sum of the response to the items and therefore ranges between 0 and 52, with higher scores indicating higher tendency to catastrophizing, and a score >= 30 indicates clinically relevant level of catastrophizing.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in acceptance attitude, assessed with the Acceptance & Action Questionnaire, second version.
The Acceptance \& Action Questionnaire-2 is composed of seven items addressing psychological inflexibility, each item ranges between 1 and 7, with higher scores indicating greater levels of inflexibility. The questionnaire score ranges between 7 and 49, and a score of 24 is a proposed cut-off.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in acceptance attitude, assessed with the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire.
The Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire is a measure of acceptance and experiential avoidance, defined in terms of the person's ability to participate daily activities while acknowledging the presence of pain, and to allow the experience of pain with no efforts to avoid or control it. It is composed of 20 items rated between 0 and 6, and the questionnaire total score is given by the sum to each of them. Score ranges between 0 and 120, with higher scores indicating higher capacity to engage in activities with presence of pain and with no attempts to avoid or control it.
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in mindfulness, assessed with the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale.
The scale measures people's tendency to be mindful of moment to moment experience, i.e. it focuses on the presence of attention and awareness of what occurs in the present. It is composed of 15 items, rated on a 1-6 scale: thus overall score ranges between 15 and 90, with higher scores reflecting higher mindfulness (i.e. higher attention and awareness of what occurs in the present).
Measured: 6, 12 months
Change in overall work productivity reduction.
Work productivity reduction is a composite measure given by two sub-dimension, namely absenteeism and presenteeism. Absenteeism is calculated as the number of days in which the person did not get to work because of headache. Presenteeism is calculated as the number of days in which the person was at work, but worked with reduced efficiency due to the presence of migraine headache. To calculate presenteeism, patients have to refer the number of days in which they worked with lower ability due to headache, and have to provide an estimate of their average performance level on a 1-99% scale. The portion needed to reach 100% performance is the productivity reduction coefficient, which is multiplied by the number of days with presenteeism to get the overall presenteeism measure.
The overall work productivity reduction is given by the sum of absenteeism and presenteeism.
Measured: 12 months
Risk of CM development
Proportion of patients meeting the criteria for Chronic Migraine and Medication Overuse Headache (1.3 and 8.2 of the ICHD-3beta).
Measured: 12, 24 and 36 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted12 Mar 2018
- Study start15 Mar 2018
- Primary completion15 Jul 2020
- Study completion31 Dec 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (5)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Migraine Without AuraStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Licia Grazzi, MD, Principal investigator, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03461874
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- ACT protocol
- Acronym
- ACTMigraine
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 15 Feb 2018
- Last updated
- 11 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Andrasik F, Grazzi L, D'Amico D, Sansone E, Leonardi M, Raggi A, Salgado-Garcia F. Mindfulness and headache: A "new" old treatment, with new findings. Cephalalgia. 2016 Oct;36(12):1192-1205. doi: 10.1177/0333102416667023. Epub 2016 Oct 1.
PubMed 27694139Giannini G, Zanigni S, Grimaldi D, Melotti R, Pierangeli G, Cortelli P, Cevoli S. Cephalalgiaphobia as a feature of high-frequency migraine: a pilot study. J Headache Pain. 2013 Jun 10;14(1):49. doi: 10.1186/1129-2377-14-49.
PubMed 23759110Grazzi L, Sansone E, Raggi A, D'Amico D, De Giorgio A, Leonardi M, De Torres L, Salgado-Garcia F, Andrasik F. Mindfulness and pharmacological prophylaxis after withdrawal from medication overuse in patients with Chronic Migraine: an effectiveness trial with a one-year follow-up. J Headache Pain. 2017 Dec;18(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s10194-017-0728-z. Epub 2017 Feb 4.
PubMed 28161874Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW, Masuda A, Lillis J. Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes. Behav Res Ther. 2006 Jan;44(1):1-25. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.
PubMed 16300724Luciano JV, Guallar JA, Aguado J, Lopez-Del-Hoyo Y, Olivan B, Magallon R, Alda M, Serrano-Blanco A, Gili M, Garcia-Campayo J. Effectiveness of group acceptance and commitment therapy for fibromyalgia: a 6-month randomized controlled trial (EFFIGACT study). Pain. 2014 Apr;155(4):693-702. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.12.029. Epub 2013 Dec 28.
PubMed 24378880
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Feasibility and Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for High Frequency Episodic Migraine Without Aura
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03461874
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- ACTMigraine / ACT protocol
- Conditions
- Migraine Without Aura
- Keywords
- High-Frequency Migraine without aura, ACT
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo BestaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study start
- 15 Mar 2018 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Jul 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 12 Mar 2018 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The aim is to compare the effectiveness of a behavioral treatment, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, provided as an add-on to the prophylactic treatment (treatment as usual-TaU) against TaU only on the reduction of monthly headaches frequency over 12 months in a sample of patients with high-frequency migraine without aura (i.e. reporting 9-14 days with headache per month in the previous three months).
ACT will be provided in small groups (5-7 patients each) by specifically trained therapists. The ACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Identifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program.
TaU will consist of education of patients, followed by pharmacological prophylaxis. Prophylaxis is prescribed based on patients' profile, such as previous failures, contraindications and so on by a neurologist with expertise in headache treatments and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Calcium channel blockers.
The study will be a Phase II Trial; randomized, Open-Label; Multicenter study. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to the two groups: 64 patients (32 per group) will be enrolled to detect an absolute difference of at least 2 migraine days/month in the experimental group (assuming alfa 5%, power 95%, up to 15% loss to follow-up).
Detailed description
Background and significance. Patients with Migraine without Aura at high frequency of attacks (9/14 episode per month) are particularly exposed to the risk of medication overuse and chronification of their headache. The treatment of this category of patients can be difficult and they need a multidisciplinary treatment to learn techniques to manage their pain before than a chronic migraine condition has been induced. In recent years, non-pharmacological treatments have been proposed for treating patient with different forms of migraines and, among them, Mindfulness showed to be comparable to pharmacological prophylaxis.
ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) belongs to the third wave of behavioral approaches used for different pathological conditions; the attention is focused on mental processes and the objective of this intervention is the psychological flexibility by cultivating six different positive psychological capacities; acceptance, defusion, sense of self, mindfulness, values, committed actions.
Reports in literature documented the effectiveness of ACT intervention to improve disability and impact in pain conditions and to develop the resilience of patients suffering from different physical or mental clinical problems. People with low resilience are exposed to have more emotional difficulties in terms of depression and anxiety and stress, in particular when they are suffering from chronic pain conditions such as migraine at high frequency, which has high impact on patients life. It has been demonstrated that specific interventions addressed to promote resilience can be helpful to reduce the impact of the disease and of pain. Studies on the use of mindfulness and ACT in particular in chronic pain conditions and migraine have demonstrated how these practices are helpful to tolerate pain, to contain the use of symptomatic medications and to modulate some specific characteristics of migraine patients personality, e.g. rigidity, low acceptance, low resilience.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment as usual | Active comparator | Behavioral: Education of patients, Drug: Pharmacological prophylaxisEducation of patients followed by Pharmacological Prophylaxis, prescribed based on patients' profile (e.g. previous failures or contraindications), and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Calcium channel blockers |
| Treatment as usual + ACT | Experimental | Behavioral: Education of patients, Behavioral: ACT, Drug: Pharmacological prophylaxisEducation of patients, Pharmacological Prophylaxis prescribed based on patients' profile, and eight group sessions of 90 minutes of ACT. The ACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Indentifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Age 18-65 years;
- Diagnosis of High Frequency Episodic Migraine without Aura according to the IHS criteria, i.e. 9-14 days with headache per month in the previous three months.
- Patients were stable in terms of pharmacological prophylaxis (for those cases in which it has been prescribed) in the preceding three months.
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Overuse of medications as defined by the ICHD, i.e. 15 or more NSAIDs per month, 10 or more triptans per month, 10 or more opioids, 10 or more combined compounds per month in the previous three months
- Withdrawal intervention during the 18 months preceding the inclusion in the clinical program
- Known major depression or other psychiatric condition as reported in clinical documentation
- Known epilepsy and idiopathic intracranial hypertension as reported in clinical documentation
- Psychotherapy (any approach) in the previous 18 months
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Education of patientsDuring withdrawal treatment, patients are given recommendations on the approach to the use of drugs for acute treatment of migraine headache and on lifestyle issues. With regard to drugs, patients will be encouraged to restrict use of acute medications to headaches with "severe pain"; i.e., those rated as 8 or greater on a 0-10 (no pain - pain as bad as it could be). In these instances, patients will be instructed to take Eletriptan (40 mg) and/or Almotriptan (12.5 mg) as the first-line treatment, indomethacin (50 mg) as the second line, and will be specifically urged to avoid opioids. With regard to healthy lifestyle issues, patients will be encouraged to engage in moderate physical activity (i.e., 45 minutes twice per week of aerobic exercise), remain well hydrated, consume 3 meals per day, and maintain a regular sleep/wake pattern with at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. | Behavioural | Treatment as usual, Treatment as usual + ACT |
| ACTACT consists in 6 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each, and 2 supplementary "booster" sessions, at two and four weeks after the conclusion of the weekly session. The main focus of the six ACT session will be the following: 1) Creative helplessness: the problem of control; 2) Indentifying values: introduction to Mindfulness; 3) Actions guided by values: working with thought; 4) Working with Acceptance and Willingness; 5) Committed Actions: self-as-context; 6) Integration: working with obstacles - wrap-up. The booster session starts with a mindfulness exercise, followed by a review of the contents covered across the ACT program. Patients will be trained in small groups (5-7 patients each) and guided by a specifically trained therapist. They will be educated to practice at home according to the instructions given by the therapist during the sessions. | Behavioural | Treatment as usual + ACT |
| Pharmacological prophylaxisPharmacological prophylaxis will be prescribed based on patients' profile (e.g. previous failures or contraindications), and limited to Topiramate, Propanolol, Amytriptiline or Flunarizine. Doses will depend on patients' features, and the doses herein reported are to be intended as approximate ones: Topiramate at the dose of 50mg/day; Propanolol at the dose of 20mg/day; Amytriptiline at the dose of 10mg/day; Flunarizine at the dose of 5mg/day. | Drug | Treatment as usual, Treatment as usual + ACT |
Primary outcome
Reduction of headaches frequency
Time frame: 12 months
Reduction of headaches frequency in patients treated by Pharmacological therapy only compared to patients treated by Pharmacological treatment + ACT
12 secondary outcomes
Difference in the proportion of patients achieving the reduction of 50% or more of days with headache compared to baseline
Time frame: 12 months
Medications intake
Time frame: 3, 6, 12 months
Change in disability scores, assessed with the Migraine Disability Assessment.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in impact scores, assessed with the 6-item Headache Impact Test.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in in anxiety and depression scores, assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in allodynia, assessed with the Allodynia Symptom Checklist.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in catastrophizing attitude, assessed with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in acceptance attitude, assessed with the Acceptance & Action Questionnaire, second version.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in acceptance attitude, assessed with the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in mindfulness, assessed with the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale.
Time frame: 6, 12 months
Change in overall work productivity reduction.
Time frame: 12 months
Risk of CM development
Time frame: 12, 24 and 36 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Feb 2026.
- Background: PubMed 27694139Andrasik F, Grazzi L, D'Amico D, Sansone E, Leonardi M, Raggi A, Salgado-Garcia F. Mindfulness and headache: A "new" old treatment, with new findings. Cephalalgia. 2016 Oct;36(12):1192-1205. doi: 10.1177/0333102416667023. Epub 2016 Oct 1.
- Background: PubMed 23759110Giannini G, Zanigni S, Grimaldi D, Melotti R, Pierangeli G, Cortelli P, Cevoli S. Cephalalgiaphobia as a feature of high-frequency migraine: a pilot study. J Headache Pain. 2013 Jun 10;14(1):49. doi: 10.1186/1129-2377-14-49.
- Background: PubMed 28161874Grazzi L, Sansone E, Raggi A, D'Amico D, De Giorgio A, Leonardi M, De Torres L, Salgado-Garcia F, Andrasik F. Mindfulness and pharmacological prophylaxis after withdrawal from medication overuse in patients with Chronic Migraine: an effectiveness trial with a one-year follow-up. J Headache Pain. 2017 Dec;18(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s10194-017-0728-z. Epub 2017 Feb 4.
- Background: PubMed 16300724Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW, Masuda A, Lillis J. Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes. Behav Res Ther. 2006 Jan;44(1):1-25. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006.
- Background: PubMed 24378880Luciano JV, Guallar JA, Aguado J, Lopez-Del-Hoyo Y, Olivan B, Magallon R, Alda M, Serrano-Blanco A, Gili M, Garcia-Campayo J. Effectiveness of group acceptance and commitment therapy for fibromyalgia: a 6-month randomized controlled trial (EFFIGACT study). Pain. 2014 Apr;155(4):693-702. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2013.12.029. Epub 2013 Dec 28.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Licia Grazzi, MD principal investigator
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Education of patients, ACT and Pharmacological prophylaxis in people with Migraine Without Aura, run by Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta at 1 site in Italy.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Italy. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Reduction of headaches frequency (time frame: 12 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03461874, which also lists 5 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Feb 2026.