RELAXaHEAD for Headache Patients (Phase III)

October 9, 2025 updated by: NYU Langone Health

A Single-Center Phase 3 Study of RELAXaHEAD: A Behavioral Approach to Remote Migraine Management in Primary Care

This study is a fully powered, remote randomized control trial to evaluate RELAXaHEAD in people with migraine.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Patients with migraine seen across diverse primary care practices (through three different affiliated hospitals and one of the largest family health center groups in the country) will be identified via an electronic medical record system. The investigators will randomize 356 participants and examine the potential benefits to two different smartphone based interventions between baseline and weeks 3-6. The investigators will also examine the persistence of effects up to 26 weeks post-treatment, mediators to explore mechanisms, and moderators to identify subgroups of patients for whom the intervention seems most effective.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
356

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • Recruiting
        • NYU Langone Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English speaking. (At this time, the validated app is only available in English.)
  • ≥16 years of age
  • Meets International Classification of Headache Disorder (ICHD)-3 migraine criteria based on Information in the Study Manual
  • Headaches for ≥1 year with a stable pattern for the past >3 months
  • Agreement to not make any preventive medication changes for the 3 months before the start of the trial and then the 6 weeks of the intervention part of the study
  • 4-29 headache days a month (so that we include those in whom we typically offer preventive treatment (>4 headache days/month and those with more frequent migraines including chronic migraine but exclude those with continuous headaches (30 days/month))
  • MSQv2 score <75 for role restrictive function to ensure participants have sufficient reduced quality of life to potentially benefit from the intervention (see if there is a positive effect of the intervention)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have had CBT, Biofeedback, or other Relaxation Therapy for migraine in the past year
  • Alcohol or other substance abuse as determined by self-report or prior documentation in the medical record
  • Diagnosis of medication overuse headache and/or opioid or barbiturate use
  • PHQ-8 scores greater than 15, indicate a conservative score of moderately severe depressive symptoms based on the PHQ-9 12-14 (in those with PHQ-8 scores >15, more intense intervention targeted to the depression may be needed, as depression is a significant predictor of migraine chronification and people with migraine and comorbid depression are more likely to be refractory to migraine treatments and to suffer from medication overuse)
  • Unable or unwilling to follow a treatment program that relies on written and audio-taped materials
  • Not having a smartphone (we do not believe this exclusion criterion will adversely affect equitable subject selection because the subject population specific to our research question would only be able to access this application via smartphone if it were to become publicly available, including subjects without smartphones would not be pertinent to our research question and overall study goals).
  • Pregnant (because hormonal fluctuations in pregnancy can affect migraine outcomes)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: RELAX Group 1
Participants will receive access to the RELAXaHEAD app version 1 which contains certain features for migraine self-management with written materials.
Behavioral: RELAXaHEAD Smartphone App Version 1
RELAXaHEAD is a smartphone application that allows users to track headache frequency and severity, sleep, medication, medication side effects, and menstrual cycle, and create personal notes daily. The RELAXaHEAD app has an option for users to view their data reports and charts.
Active Comparator: RELAX Group 2
Participants will receive access to the RELAXaHEAD app version 2 which contains certain features for migraine self-management with written and audio materials.
Behavioral: RELAXaHEAD Smartphone App Version 2
RELAXaHEAD is a smartphone application that allows users to track headache frequency and severity, sleep, medication, medication side effects, and menstrual cycle, and create personal notes daily. The RELAXaHEAD app has an option for users to view their data reports and charts. This version also contains audio materials.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Modified Monthly Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (mMIDAS) Score
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6
5-item scale designed to measure disability over the previous 4 weeks. The total score is the sum of missed days due to a migraine from paid work, school, housework, and nonwork (family, social, and leisure) activities and days at paid work or housework where productivity was reduced by at least half. A decrease in scores indicates disability decreased during the observational period.
Baseline, Week 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Migraine Specific Quality of Life (MSQ) Version 2 Scores
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6
14-item self-assessment of how migraine affects a patient's life. Items ranked on a 6-point Likert scale, where: 1 = None of the time; 2 = A little bit of the time; 3 = Some of the time; 4 = A good bit of the time; 5 = Most of the time; and 6 = All of the time. Raw dimension scores are computed as a sum of item responses and rescaled on a 0-100 scale; higher scores indicate better quality of life.
Baseline, Week 6
Change in Monthly Headache Days (MHDs)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 6
MHDs data derived from the mMIDAS questionnaire and electronic diary.
Baseline, Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
NYU Langone Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Mia T Minen, MD, NYU Langone Health

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 8, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 5, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 5, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 11, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 10, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 9, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 22-01208

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The de-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript will be shared upon reasonable request beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research provided the investigator who proposes to use the data executes a data use agreement with NYU Langone Health. Requests may be directed to: mia.minen@nyulangone.org. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

The investigator who proposed to use the data will be granted access upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to mia.minen@nyulangone.org. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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