Could a common cholesterol drug stop chronic migraine?
NCT ID NCT06485336
First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether taking atorvastatin (a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug) every day for 12 weeks can reduce the number of migraine days in people with chronic migraine. About 300 adults aged 18–64 with chronic migraine will receive either atorvastatin or a placebo pill. The goal is to see if the drug prevents attacks better than placebo, with fewer side effects, and at a lower cost than current treatments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- atorvastatin 40 mg tablet taken daily for 84 days
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new, affordable, and well-tolerated daily pill to prevent chronic migraine attacks.
- What could go wrong
- This is a Phase 2 trial, so results are not yet confirmed. Previous smaller studies showed promise, but the larger study may not replicate those benefits, and side effects are possible.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2024
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18 to 64 years 2. Signed informed consent 3. Chronic migraine according to ICHD-3 criteria (32) 4. At inclusion, patients should retrospectively have at least 15 headache days per month wheof at least 8 migraine days during the last 3 months. This frequency must be confirmed in the headache diary before randomisation to treatment (See below). 5. Debut of migraine at least one year prior to inclusion based on information in the patient record or by careful examination of previous headache history 6. Start of migraine before age 50 years. 7. No use of other migraine prophylactics during the study 8. For women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP, see below) there must be no pregnancy or planned pregnancy during the study period, and use of highly effective contraception (See below). After the baseline period, just before randomisation to the study drug, inclusion criteria will be evaluated once more, and the headache diary will be evaluated. If there are, according to the headache diary, fewer migraine days than 8 per month, the baseline period can be extended to 8 weeks. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Medication overuse headache requiring detoxification from acute medication (triptans, opioids). Exception could be made for those fulfilling A and B: A. Have tried a withdrawal period of at least 2 months without impact on headache frequency B: Use of opioids (of any type) ≤ 8 days /months. 2. Pregnancy, planning to get pregnant, inability to use contraceptives (See inclusion criteria, point 8), and lactating 3. Clinical information on or signs of cholestasis or decreased hepatic or renal function. 4. High degree of comorbidity and/or frailty associated with reduced life expectancy or high likelihood of hospitalization, at the discretion of the investigator 5. Hypersensitivity to statins or previous use of statins 6. History of angioneurotic oedema 7. Use of medicines for migraine prophylaxis less than 4 weeks, or of botulinum toxin less than 16 weeks, prior to start of study 8. Current use of antiviral treatment agaist hepatitis C 9. Significant psychiatric illness 10. Alcohol or illicit drug dependence. 11. Inability to understand study procedures and to comply with them for the entire length of the study 12. Treatment for hypothyroidism 13. Lactose intolerance
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
6 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Haukeland University Hospital
RECRUITINGBergen, Norway
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Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGOslo, Norway
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Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGOslo, Norway
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St. Olavs hospital
RECRUITINGTrondheim, Norway
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University Hospital Northern Norway
RECRUITINGTromsø, Norway
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University Hospital, Akershus
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLørenskog, Norway
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could an inhaled sedative quiet the Brain's migraine alarm?
- Can neck exercises turn down the volume on chronic migraine?
- Can a No-Fridge migraine shot replace botox?
- Migraine relief may sharpen the mind: study investigates cognitive benefits of preventive therapies
- New combo therapy for chronic migraine: atogepant plus botox under study