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TerminatedNCT01859052Updated Sep 2, 2015

Diet and Migraine Study

An interventional study of Low carbohydrate diet and Low calorie low fat diet in Migraine and Obesity, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 19 Years to 49 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-09-02.

Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Why this study was terminated
Study team was unable to effectively conduct the study.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
32
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
19 Years to 49 Years
Sex
Female
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Study summary

The purpose of this study is to look at two different diets (a low carbohydrate diet and a low fat diet) for migraine prevention in overweight or obese persons with migraine. The overall aim is to test the theory that diet will improve migraine frequency and that such improvements will be associated with favorable changes in body weight, inflammation, and heart health.

Read the detailed description

Obesity is a risk factor for migraine. Further, in the past decade multiple lines of research have substantiated the presence of migraine headaches as a risk factor for CVD (eg. stroke). Migraineurs have also been demonstrated to have abnormal insulin responses, higher lipids and endothelial dysfunction. Limited data suggests a low fat diet may be of benefit in reducing migraine frequency; no studies have examined the efficacy of a low carbohydrate (ie. low glycemic) diet for migraine prevention in adults.. None of these studies examined the effects and potential mechanisms of such diet programs on CV health, body composition, and the inflammatory cascade in migraineurs. This 3 -month study addresses the efficacy and potential mechanisms of two different diets, (a low carbohydrate diet and a low fat diet) for migraine prevention in a clinical cohort of overweight or obese persons with migraine. The overall aim is to test the hypothesis that each behavioral intervention will improve migraine frequency and that such improvements will be associated with favorable changes in body composition, inflammation, and CV parameters.

Hypothesis 1.1 The mean monthly migraine frequency will be decreased in those who maintain a low-fat diet or low-carbohydrate diet for 3 months as compared to controls.

Hypothesis 1.2 Participants randomized to the diets will demonstrate favorable changes in body composition (eg. decrease in adipose tissue volume on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and body fat on DEXA), inflammatory markers (eg. decrease in adipocytokine levels), and CV parameters (eg. improved cholesterol panel, glucose levels and markers of arterial stiffness) as compared to controls.

02

Conditions studied

  • Migraine
  • Obesity

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Keywords

  • migraine
  • obesity
  • low fat diet
  • low carbohydrate diet
03

In context

Migraine Disorders

1,528 studies on the registry are indexed under Migraine Disorders; 299 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 32 is below the median of 80 across 1,175 interventional studies indexed under Migraine Disorders.

Browse Migraine Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins University is the lead sponsor of 1,783 studies on the registry; 313 are open to participants now.

Of its 203 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 140 (69%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
19 Years to 49 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • overweight or obese (BMI between 25 and 42)
  • women
  • >18 years and \< 50 years old
  • Migraine meeting ICHD criteria for at least 6 months prior to screening
  • headache frequency documented > 2 and \< 10 headache days per month
  • BP inclusion criteria are SBP \<160 or DBP \<100 mm Hg

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • hypocaloric diet (must be weight stable for prior 3 months)
  • Self-report of alcohol or substance abuse in the past year or current treatment
  • Type 1 or 2 diabetes
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
32 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    Obese migraineurs

    Low carbohydrate diet

    Other: Low carbohydrate diet · Other: Low calorie low fat diet

  • Other
    low-fat diet

    Obese Migraineurs

    Other: Low carbohydrate diet · Other: Low calorie low fat diet

  • Other
    Controls

    Controls receiving AHA diet recommendations

    Other: AHA diet recommendations

Interventions

  • OtherLow carbohydrate diet

    Subjects will follow the Atkins for Life diet. They will be given the book and a study dietitian will guide them through the induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance, and lifetime maintenance phases.

  • OtherLow calorie low fat diet

    The diet will be a nutritionally balanced, hypocaloric diet with a deficit of 750 kcal/day as guided by TEE. The goal is to match the calorie deficit to the low-CHO diet

  • OtherAHA diet recommendations

    given information in accordance with the diet and lifestyle recommendations of the American Heart Association.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Mean change in headache frequency

    Change in headache frequency from baseline to 3 months

    Time frame: 3 months.

  2. Mean change in body composition

    The mean change in body composition from the baseline phase to 3 months

    Time frame: 3 months

  3. The mean change in inflammatory markers

    The mean change in inflammatory markers from baseline to 3 months

    Time frame: 3 month

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of patients responding to treatment

    Proportion of participants responding to weight loss program as measured by a 21% or more reduction in mean monthly migraine frequency

    Time frame: 3 months

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Study locations

1 site
  • The Johns Hopkins Bayview Headache Center
    Baltimore, Maryland 21224, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 2, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01859052
Lead sponsor
Johns Hopkins University
Responsible party
Drs Barbara Peterlin (Director of Headache Research, Johns Hopkins University) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 21, 2013
Start date
Jul 2012
Primary completion
May 2015
Completion
May 2015
Last update
Sep 2, 2015

Study contacts

Barbara L Peterlin, DO
principal investigator · The Johns Hopkins University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Aug 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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