Post-Traumatic HeadacheNCT05669885
Hypersensitivity to Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibition in Post-Traumatic Headache
A study testing Sildenafil in people with Post-Traumatic Headache, run by Danish Headache Center at 1 site in Denmark.
Trial summary
To investigate whether sildenafil (phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor) induces migraine-like headache in people with persistent post-traumatic headache (PTH) attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Post-Traumatic Headache
- What is being tested?
- Sildenafil
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 21 participants
- Where
- 1 siteDenmark
- Study dates
- 2 Jan 2023to 31 Dec 2023
- 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 to 65 years of age upon entry into screening
- History of persistent headache attributed to mild traumatic injury to the head for ≥ 12 months and in accordance with the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition (ICHD-3)
- ≥ 4 monthly headache days on average across the 3 months prior to screening
- Provision of informed consent prior to initiation of any study-specific activities/procedures
Who cannot join
- > 1 mild traumatic injury to the head
- History of any primary or secondary headache disorder prior to mild traumatic injury to the head (except for infrequent episodic tension-type headache)
- History of moderate or severe injury to the head
- History of whiplash injury
- History of craniotomy
- History or evidence of any other clinically significant disorder, condition or disease (except for those outlined above) than, in the opinion of the site investigator, would pose a risk to subject safety or interfere with study evaluation, procedures or completion
Show all 15Show fewer
- The subject is at risk of self-harm or harm to others as evidenced by past suicidal behavior
- Female subjects of childbearing potential with a positive pregnancy test during any study visit
- Cardiovascular disease of any kind, including cerebrovascular diseases
- Hypertension (systolic blood pressure of ≥150 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of ≥100 mmHg) prior to the start of infusion on the experimental day
- Hypotension (systolic blood pressure of ≤90 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of ≤50 mmHg)
- Initiation, discontinuation, or change of dosing of prophylactic medications within 2 months prior to study inclusion
- Intake of acute medications (e.g. analgesics, triptans) within 48 hours of infusion start
- Baseline headache intensity of >3 on an 11-point numeric rating scale (0 being no headache, 10 being the worst imaginable headache)
- Baseline headache with migraine-like features or self-reported baseline headache that mimics the subjects' usual headache with migraine-like features
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Denmark1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Danish Headache Center
Copenhagen
Hakan Ashina, MD
About this study
Official title: Hypersensitivity to Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibition in Post-Traumatic Headache: A Randomized Clinical Trial
To investigate whether sildenafil (phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor) induces migraine-like headache in people with persistent post-traumatic headache (PTH) attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
- Conditions
- Post-Traumatic Headache
- Being tested
- Sildenafil, Placebo
- Medical subject headings
- Post-Traumatic Headache
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SildenafilDrug
Study participants will be allocated to receive oral administration of 100 mg sildenafil.
PlaceboDrug
Study participants will be allocated to receive oral administration of placebo.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Sildenafil | Experimental | Oral administration of 100 mg sildenafil. Receives: Drug: Sildenafil |
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Not described Receives: Drug: Placebo |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Incidence of Migraine-Like Headache
Difference in incidence of headache with migraine-like features (0 to 12 hours) between sildenafil and placebo.
Measured: 12 Hours
Secondary outcomes (1)
Headache Intensity Scores
Difference in area under the curve (AUC) for headache intensity scores (0 to 12 hours) between sildenafil and placebo.
Measured: 12 Hours
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Jan 2023
- Study start2 Jan 2023
- Primary completion31 Dec 2023 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2023 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Post-Traumatic HeadacheStudies 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
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Quadruple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 21 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Danish Headache Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Håkan Ashina, Danish Headache Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05669885
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- H-21067665
- Status last verified
- Feb 2023
- First submitted
- 20 Dec 2022
- Last updated
- 8 Feb 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Al-Khazali HM, Christensen RH, Melchior AG, Ashina M, Ashina H. Hypersensitivity to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibition in post-traumatic headache: Evidence of cGMP-dependent signaling. Cephalalgia. 2026 Mar;46(3):3331024261419409. doi: 10.1177/03331024261419409. Epub 2026 Mar 6.
PubMed 41789856
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 8 Feb 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Hypersensitivity to Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibition in Post-Traumatic Headache: A Randomized Clinical Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05669885
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- H-21067665
- Conditions
- Post-Traumatic Headache
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 21 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Danish Headache CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 2 Jan 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2023 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2023 (estimated)
- First posted
- 3 Jan 2023 (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.
To investigate whether sildenafil (phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor) induces migraine-like headache in people with persistent post-traumatic headache (PTH) attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Quadruple blind (participant, care provider, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Sildenafil | Experimental | Drug: SildenafilOral administration of 100 mg sildenafil. |
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Drug: Placebo |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Age 18 to 65 years of age upon entry into screening
- History of persistent headache attributed to mild traumatic injury to the head for ≥ 12 months and in accordance with the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition (ICHD-3)
- ≥ 4 monthly headache days on average across the 3 months prior to screening
- Provision of informed consent prior to initiation of any study-specific activities/procedures
Key exclusion criteria (15 listed)
- > 1 mild traumatic injury to the head
- History of any primary or secondary headache disorder prior to mild traumatic injury to the head (except for infrequent episodic tension-type headache)
- History of moderate or severe injury to the head
- History of whiplash injury
- History of craniotomy
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SildenafilStudy participants will be allocated to receive oral administration of 100 mg sildenafil. | Drug | Sildenafil |
| PlaceboStudy participants will be allocated to receive oral administration of placebo. | Drug | Placebo |
Primary outcome
Incidence of Migraine-Like Headache
Time frame: 12 Hours
Difference in incidence of headache with migraine-like features (0 to 12 hours) between sildenafil and placebo.
1 secondary outcome
Headache Intensity Scores
Time frame: 12 Hours
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 8 Feb 2023.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 41789856Al-Khazali HM, Christensen RH, Melchior AG, Ashina M, Ashina H. Hypersensitivity to phosphodiesterase-5 inhibition in post-traumatic headache: Evidence of cGMP-dependent signaling. Cephalalgia. 2026 Mar;46(3):3331024261419409. doi: 10.1177/03331024261419409. Epub 2026 Mar 6.
- 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.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Sildenafil in people with Post-Traumatic Headache, run by Danish Headache Center at 1 site in Denmark.
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 4 inclusion and 15 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: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Feb 2023. 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 Denmark. 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. 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?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Hakan Ashina, MD (+4528102495, haakan.ashina@regionh.dk), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Incidence of Migraine-Like Headache (time frame: 12 Hours). 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 NCT05669885, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 8 Feb 2023.