The earlier children start on migraine treatments, the more likely the therapy will be successful.

Migraine affects about 10 percent of children and teens. Migraine can be caused by many factors, including genetics and lifestyle. A variety of migraine treatments are available for patients of Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. Our team can recommend many options to help reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks.

Our team of neurologists are the leading providers of migraine care for kids from Louisville, across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Care and compassion are at the center of what we do, and we believe that all children deserve to live their best life without the disruption of migraine attacks. We’ll determine the cause of your child’s migraine and create a migraine treatment plan to help your child find relief.

Migraine Treatments

Some of the latest migraine treatments are available at Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, including acute and preventive treatments. Our specialists are trained to provide unique therapies, such as acupuncture to prevent migraine without medication. Our physicians can discuss medication strategies with you, including ways to prevent migraine and ways to treat migraine once it starts.

Medications

• Ibuprofen
• Acetaminophen
• Triptans
• Vitamins (magnesium oxide, coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin)
• Topiramate
• Amitriptyline
• Beta blockers (propranolol)

Procedures

• Acupuncture
• Botox injections to paralyze muscles in the head and provide relief from some types of headache

Devices

• Trigeminal nerve simulator device
• Nerivio neurostimulator

Other Options

• Changing lifestyle factors, such as hydration, nutrition, stress reduction, exercise and sleep habits
• If a child is experiencing more than one headache per week, they may be eligible for a more robust migraine treatment and prevention plan.
• Clinical studies are under way for CGRP receptor antagonists (“gepants”) in children, a type of medication that has been approved for migraine treatment in adults.
• Keeping a migraine diary can assist in identifying possible triggers or patterns to the attacks. Learning how to manage stress through techniques such as biofeedback and controlled breathing can be helpful as well.

Current Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute Migraine Clinical Trials and Studies

Why Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute?

• The Norton Children’s Hospital Comprehensive Epilepsy Center is a Level 4 epilepsy center, the highest rating available from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Norton Children’s Hospital has held this designation since 2013.
• We are the first in Kentucky and among the first in the nation to use neurostimulation in a pediatric patient.
• Regional neurology care is available for children across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. We travel to clinics in Bowling Green, Campbellsville, Corbin, Elizabethtown, Frankfort, Owensboro and Paducah, Kentucky; and Evansville, Indiana. We also perform a number of telemedicine visits each week.
• The specialists with Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, use state-of-the-art technology to treat epilepsy, uncontrollable seizures and deep brain tumors in children who, in the past, would not be candidates for surgery, including:
  • Visualase: Technology that allows neurosurgeons to perform MRI-guided laser ablation surgery. Fewer than two dozen pediatric hospitals in the U.S. offer this technology.
  • Surgical Theater: Virtual reality technology that creates an immersive 3D view of a patient’s brain, allowing neurosurgeons, the patient and family to see inside the skull and brain to get a greater understanding of the condition and impact of potential procedures. Norton Children’s Hospital is the first hospital in the region to use this technology.
• We offer dedicated multidisciplinary clinics for brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries, spina bifida, craniofacial injuries and disorders, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, spasticity, headache/migraine, autism and neurocutaneous disorders.
• Our multidisciplinary craniofacial program was the first established in the Midwest.
• We offer a neurogenetics clinic to evaluate and treat children with neurogenetic syndromes.
• We have a neuropsychology program that specializes in the evaluation of children and teens with a variety of neurological, neurodevelopmental and medical conditions, including brain tumors and epilepsy.
• Outpatient neurology facilities in downtown Louisville are equipped with in-office electroencephalography (EEG) capabilities and laboratory services in the same building, creating a streamlined, family-centered environment.
• We offer the region’s first clinic to treat children with immune-mediated neurological disorders.