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This document published by the International Headache Society provides practical recommendations for the preventive pharmacological treatment of migraines. The recommendations are categorized into two levels: Optimal and Essential, based on medication availability in different regions. The document includes a table listing drugs with evidence of efficacy for migraine prevention and their availability in the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines. The recommendations aim to establish essential standards of migraine management worldwide and provide guidance on evaluating treatment effectiveness, switching medications, combination therapy, and duration of treatment. The document also discusses comorbidities, specific medications for chronic migraine, preventive treatment in different populations, and managing medication overuse headache. [Extracted from the article]

Background: In an effort to improve migraine management around the world, the International Headache Society (IHS) has here developed a list of practical recommendations for the acute pharmacological treatment of migraine. The recommendations are categorized into optimal and essential, in order to provide treatment options for all possible settings, including those with limited access to migraine medications. Methods: An IHS steering committee developed a list of clinical questions based on practical issues in the management of migraine. A selected group of international senior and junior headache experts developed the recommendations, following expert consensus and the review of available national and international headache guidelines and guidance documents. Following the initial search, a bibliography of twenty-one national and international guidelines was created and reviewed by the working group. Results: A total of seventeen questions addressing different aspects of acute migraine treatment have been outlined. For each of them we provide an optimal recommendation, to be used whenever possible, and an essential recommendation to be used when the optimal level cannot be attained. Conclusion: Adoption of these international recommendations will improve the quality of acute migraine treatment around the world, even where pharmacological options remain limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]