Medicinal vs. Orthotic Comparison for Migraine Prevention: A Double-Blind Study

January 18, 2021 updated by: Dr. Sunitha Bharadia, Manhattan Beach Orthodontics
To understand the impacts of using a fixed orthotic facial exercise appliance (BLAfit®) for migraine reduction, as compared to medication (fremanezumab-vfrm) and control.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

The investigators will be studying the impacts of using an orthotic facial exercise device (BLAfit®) in the prevention of migraines for those who suffer from roughly 10-15 migraines per month. In order to test the efficacy of this device and its exercise routine, investigators will have one arm of our study receive the BLAfit® device and perform the exercises for one minute daily for three months. In Arm #2, there will be another treatment: Ajovy® (fremanezumab-vfrm) injections- which is a known and commonly practiced clinical prevention treatment for migraine patients. Patients in this arm will receive three injections of Ajovy, which is will be meant to last 3 months. In addition, investigators will have a placebo group that will receive three saline injections, which are meant to mimic the three Ajovy® injections. Arms #2 and #3 of this study will be conducted in a double-blind fashion, as both the clinician providing the injections and the patients receiving the injections will not know if the injecting substance is Ajovy or saline, so as to minimize bias. All patients in all three months will log their number and pain level of their migraines each day for three months. Upon conclusion, they will meet with our in-house neurologist (Principal Investigator & Sponsor) for a final in-person evaluation and questionnaire. Results from the three groups will then be analyzed.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

80

Phase

  • 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 Backup

Study Locations

    • California
      • Manhattan Beach, California, United States, 90266
        • Manhattan Beach Orthodontics
        • Contact:
          • Maryam Bakhtiyari, DDS
          • Phone Number: 310-372-6600

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Those eligible to participate must be between the ages of 18 to 55 years.
  • The individual must experience at least 2 migraines per week.
  • They must be capable of visiting the medical facility in Manhattan Beach, California where the in-person screening and final evaluation will be conducted (following COVID-19 public health guidelines).
  • They must be able to communicate with the study team via any teleconferencing service such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, or FaceTime.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients must not have any intracranial pathology, neurological or psychological conditions, epilepsy, cancer, any history of chemotherapy, hospitalized for depression, psychiatric conditions, seizures, or tumors.
  • Patients cannot have taken Botox® for migraine treatments.
  • Patients cannot have had a history of head or neck surgery.
  • Patients cannot be taking: propranolol, amitriptyline, flunarizine, topiramate, combination, galcanezumab-gnlm, fremanezumab-vfrm, or erenumab-aooe.
  • Patients must not be deemed a vulnerable subject (including but not limited to: children, prisoners, pregnant women, mentally disabled persons).

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: BLAfit® usage
In this arm, subjects will used the fixed orthotic device called BLAfit® for one minute of facial exercise a day for three months.
Usage of the BLAfit device, a fixed orthotic appliance that allows users to tone facial muscles with one minute usage per day
Other Names:
  • Bella Lip Appliance®
  • BLA®
Experimental: fremanezumab-vfrm
Subjects in this arm will receive three Ajovy® (fremanezumab-vfrm) injections at the start of month 2. This will be conducted in a double-blind fashion, as both the clinician providing the injection, and the subject, will not know if the injection is actually Ajovy® or just saline.
Patients will receive three injections of Ajovy® if in the corresponding arm of the study.
Other Names:
  • Ajovy®
Placebo Comparator: Saline injection
This is a placebo that is used to counter Arm #2- the Ajovy® injections. Subjects in this arm will receive three saline injections at the start of month 2 that will mimic the Ajovy® injections. This will be conducted in a double-blind fashion, as both the clinician providing the injection, and the subject, will not know if the injection is actually Ajovy® or just saline.
Patients will receive three injections of saline if in the corresponding arm of the study. This is a placebo meant to simulate the Ajovy® injection.
Other Names:
  • salt and water solution

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frequency and Pain Level of Migraines Post-Treatment
Time Frame: 4 months after start
The frequency and pain level of subjects' migraines will be assessed upon the conclusion of the study through surveying and comparing to previous survey data.
4 months after start

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sunitha Bharadia, MD, Manhattan Beach Orthodontics

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 (Anticipated)

February 1, 2021

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

April 15, 2021

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 7, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 22, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2021

Last Verified

January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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