Botox works for the elderly with headaches

I recently gave Botox injections to my oldest patient – an 96-year-old man who is otherwise in excellent mental and physical health has been suffering from daily severe cervicogenic (neck-related) headaches for many years. He had tried pain killers, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation (destruction) of nerves in his neck, all with no relief. A month after being treated with Botox he reported having almost no headaches. I have also given Botox to a number of patients with chronic migraines in their 70s and 80s.

At the last scientific meeting of the American Headache Society Cleveland Clinic neurologists presented a report entitled, Safety and Efficacy of OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) for Chronic Migraines in the Elderly. They described 28 patients who were older than 65, had an average age of 73 and who were treated with Botox injections for their chronic migraine headaches. They compared the safety and efficacy of Botox injections in this group with that of 700 patients aged 18 to 65 who participated in PREEMPT II study of Botox for chronic migraine (one of the two studies that led to the FDA approval of Botox for chronic migraines, in which we also participated). There was no significant difference in side effects between the younger and the older groups, except for a slightly higher incidence of neck pain after the injections in the elderly. The improvement was also comparable – after Botox the elderly had 11 fewer headache days a month compared with 9 fewer days in the younger group.

In conclusion, while many migraine medications are more likely to cause side effects in the elderly, this is not the case with Botox. Also, Botox appears to be as effective in the elderly with chronic migraines as in younger patients.