Can an antidepressant stop migraines before they start?
NCT ID NCT07385755
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether desvenlafaxine, a drug typically used for depression, can help prevent migraines in adults who have frequent attacks. Researchers will compare the drug to a placebo in 440 participants over 12 weeks. The goal is to see if it reduces the number of migraine days per month.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Desvenlafaxine
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a new option for preventing frequent migraines, reducing the number of headache days per month.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with no phase designation, so results are not yet confirmed. Desvenlafaxine may cause side effects like nausea or dizziness, and it might not work better than a placebo.
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
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 440 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2028
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 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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. Eligible participants must be males or females aged 18 years or older 2. Headache meets the diagnostic criteria for episodic migraine according to ICHD-3; with at least a one-year history of migraines and onset before age 50. During the three months prior to the screening visit (one month defined as four weeks), participants must have experienced≥4 and \<15 episodes of moderate to severe headaches per month, and had at least ≥6 migraine days within a 4-week run-in period. 3. Obtain the patient's informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Have a history of allergy to Desvenlafaxine, or have used Desvenlafaxine within 4 weeks prior to the start of the treatment period 2. Are currently taking or require concomitant administration of contraindicated medications as stated in the package insert, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). 3. Comorbid with other types of headaches, such as trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, more than one episode of tension-type headache per month, or secondary headaches (e.g., those caused by intracranial infections, craniocerebral trauma, cerebrovascular diseases) 4. Severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia; poorly controlled epilepsy, cognitive impairments, and other chronic pain conditions; serious concomitant medical illnesses that pose significant health risks, including uncontrolled hypertension, cardiac disease, hepatic dysfunction, renal insufficiency, infections; any medical condition or prior surgery likely to affect the absorption, metabolism, or excretion of the study medication 5. Use of venlafaxine analogues, such as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs); unstable use of other types of preventive medications for migraine, including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists, topiramate, etc. (≥3 months) 6. Meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic migraine and medication overuse (MO); alcohol dependence or substance use 7. Inability to comprehend the study protocol due to factors including but not limited to low educational attainment, impaired verbal/language function, visual or auditory deficits; failure to accurately complete research documentation (e.g., headache diaries) or incapacity to engage with assessment instruments 8. Female subjects who are trying to conceive, pregnant or breastfeeding, and those not using contraception
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Wuhan, Hubei, 430000, China
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