Action of painkillers with caffeine and migraine attack

Migraine is a complex illness characterized by moderate to severe headache attacks, affecting more than a billion people worldwide. Its treatment is mainly done by over-the-counter medications, and most of them are drugs combined with caffeine. Objective – To analyze whether analgesics combined with caffeine are more effective for the treatment of a migraine attack than analgesics not combined with caffeine. Methods – A systematic review was carried out based on scientific articles published in databases such as SCIELO, PubMed and Science Direct. We analyzed 15 original articles with clinical trials and controlled trials that evaluated the efficacy of analgesics combined with caffeine and published between 2010 and 2020. Results – Among the 15 studies analyzed, a total of 5,030 patients were evaluated. Of these studies,10 concluded that analgesics associated with caffeine are more effective for the treatment of a migraine attack, 4 studies concluded that the two types of analgesics are equally effective and 1 study concluded that the non-combined analgesic is more effective for the treatment. Conclusion – analgesics combined with caffeine are more effective for the treatment of a migraine attack, as they promote pain relief in less time, managing to completely stop the pain. Caffeine is believed to act by inhibiting cyclooxygenase in some locations and by blocking central and peripheral adenosine receptors. 