Which is better for migraines, magnesium or vitamin B2 (riboflavin)?

In the Sacramento and Davis regional areas, at UC Davis, Naziyath Vijayan MD, performs diagnosis and treatment for patients suffering from chronic headaches. For more than 20 years, he has conducted research into the causes and treatments of migraine, cluster and tension headaches. Vijayan also has written extensively about headache symptoms, causes and treatments. He is involved in clinical research and trials of new headache drugs. See the website, UC Davis Department of Neurology Faculty | Naziyath Vijayan, M.D.

Also see the article, Vitamin B and folate fight migraine - insciences. Helpful is the site, Headache and Migraine Triggers Slideshow. Also check out the article, Visual 'Noise' May Overexcite Those With Migraine. A recent California Kaiser study focused on vitamin B2 (ribovlavin) that might help migraines caused by ovarian hormone fluctuations. Kaiser Permanente also studied botox as a treatment for migraines.

According to a May 24, 2010 UC Davis article published in the California Aggie, "Link between migraines and other diseases inconclusive, studies say," there may be some links between migraines and other diseases, according to recent studies featured in USA Today.

One study done at Kaiser Permanente in California published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, required that volunteers take a daily dose of 300 mgs of magnesium along with 400 milligrams of riboflavin. Some also took 100 mgs of the herb, feverfew or 25 milligrams of riboflavin for three months.

What the study found was that those that took the 25 milligrams of riboflavin for three months and those that took the feverfew and the riboflavin had the same results as those who took the combination.

The 25 mg of riboflavin was just as effective as the combination of the higher doses of fiboflavin, feverfew, and magnesium. So the conclusion of that study was that 25 mg of riboflavin could be just as effective for preventing migraine headaches.

The verdict is still out, though on whether riboflavin and/or magnesium will help the various migraine patients. See the medical article that further describes the 2006 Kaiser Permanente study, noting in the article that the percentages of those helped were pretty close to the placebo responses. Basically, the answers aren't all in yet, and research continues. The article is "Riboflavin for migraine," Internal Medicine News, March 1, 2007 by Nancy Walsh.

Heart attacks were twice as common in people with migraines (4 percent), according to a study by Dr. Richard Lipton, a neurologist at Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein College in New York and a spokesman for the American Academy of Neurology. The risk was especially high in women who had migraines with aura - sensations that occur before the headache and can include seeing flashing or zigzagged lights.

So is there anything you can do to cut down the frequency of migraines? Kaiser Permanente in California also did a study. See the article, Report: Botox for Head Pain, Largest Study Yet. In July 9, 2006, the study focused on 271 patients who suffer from migraines. That study was done at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. Also check out the site for the Sacramento Migraine Center, Sacramento. See Sacramento CA Neurologist Doctors - Migraine Headache Causes.

Botulinum toxin type A, brand name Botox®, according to that study, is an effective preventative therapy for headache and Migraine pain in chronic sufferers, according to the largest study performed to date, presented at the 45th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society (AHS) in June 2006. But what if you don't want botox needles in your face? How about studies using simply vitamin B2 (riboflavin) on migraines possibly caused by ovarian hormone variation? Also see, Kaiser Permanente Treatment for Severe Migraine Headaches.

If ovarian hormone fluctuations are what's driving your migraines, here's how to start your research or reading on what might help monthly migraines that some women endure for decades. In the recent Kaiser study, vitamin B2 which is riboflavin was researched along with magnesium. Here are some results which scientists found.

If you look at medical articles based on studies such as the article titled, "Natural" or Alternative Medications for Migraine Prevention," Randolph W. Evans, Frederick R. Taylor, published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, Volume 46, Issue 6 , Pages1012 – 1018, or the article, "Ovarian Hormones and Migraine Headache: Understanding Mechanisms and Pathogenesis—Part I," it may help you to understand why so many women get monthly migraines.

The abstract of this article notes that, “Ovarian hormones have a significant effect on the central nervous system of female migraineurs.” Science knows that migraines are frequently triggered during declines in serum estrogen levels that occur before and during the time of menstruation. Short of having your doctor prescribe hormones for your migraines, what natural, drug-free migraine-ending solutions have been studied?

Basically, Walsh's article reports, "The rationale for using riboflavin in migraine prophylaxis is that this vitamin may help improve mitochondrial metabolism. Studies of riboflavin supplementation have been limited and inconclusive." So maybe it will work for you, and maybe you'll have the placebo effect. That's why research needs to go further. On the other hand, see the article, "Article: Low-dose riboflavin may prevent migraines," published in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Aug. 1, 2005, by Gaby, Alan R.

Also check out the March 1, 2007 article, by Nancy Walsh, "Riboflavin for migraine.(Alternative Medicine)." That article reports, "Riboflavin, or vitamin [B.sub.2], is a precursor of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), a coenzyme involved in the electron transport aspect of energy metabolism. Some of the support for the use of riboflavin in migraine derives from the observation that FAD deficiency is associated with poor cerebrovascular tone."

That article also notes, "The use of this vitamin for migraine prophylaxis is also based on the hypothesis that because impaired mitochondrial metabolism may play a part in pathogenesis, increasing mitochondrial energy efficiency with supplementation might help prevent migraines."

Riboflavin is also known as vitamin B2. According to Wikipedia, it's "an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a wide variety of cellular processes. Like the other B vitamins, it plays a key role in energy metabolism, and is required for the metabolism of fats, ketone bodies, carbohydrates, and proteins."

According to the MedicineNet.com site, Vitamin B2 is an essential nutrient found in meat, dairy foods, plant foods and grain products. The body requires vitamin B2 to break down food components, maintain tissue, and absorb other nutrients.

Like other vitamins, vitamin B2 is an organic compound. An organic compound is a substance that (1) occurs in living things, or organisms (hence, the word "organic") and (2) contains the elements carbon and oxygen (hence, the word "compound," meaning combination of elements). An alternate name for vitamin B2 is riboflavin.

Vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin, one that cannot be stored by the body except in insignificant amounts. It must be replenished daily.

Purposes and Benefits of Vitamin B2

Vitamin B2 helps break down carbohydrates, fats and protein for use by the body. Its role in maintaining an energy supply for the body is crucial, for it helps convert carbohydrates into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a compound needed to store energy in muscles. Vitamin B2 also promotes the following:

1. Skin, muscle, nerve, heart and eye health, including inhibiting the development of cataracts.

2. Production of red blood cells and antibodies.

2. Absorption or activation of iron, folic acid and Vitamins B1, B3 and B6.

3. Conversion of tryptophan, an amino acid, into niacin.

4. Production of hormones by the adrenal glands.

5. Maintenance of the mucous membranes in the digestive system with the help of vitamin A.

6. Healthy development of the fetus. (Vitamin B2 may or may not be essential for normal fetal development but it is clearly the better part of wisdom to supply it via the mother's diet.)

Food Sources of Vitamin B2

Vitamin B2 is found mainly in meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, dairy foods and grain products. Types of food containing vitamin B2 include the following:

1. Liver, beef kidneys, chicken, turkey, fish.

2. Eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt.

3. Leafy green vegetables, asparagus, artichokes, avocados, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dandelion greens, watercress, currants, spinach, kelp, peas, navy beans, lima beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cayenne, parsley, sage, rose hips.

4.Whole-grain breads, enriched breads, fortified cereals.

5. Mushrooms, nuts, molasses.

Deficiency of Vitamin B2

Vitamin B2 deficiency is quite uncommon. Those most vulnerable to deficiency of vitamin B2 include alcoholics, elderly persons with a poor diet, persons who suffer adverse reactions to dairy products (lactose intolerance) and women who use oral contraceptives.

The signs and symptoms of vitamin B2 deficiency include visual problems, such as cataracts and excessive sensitivity of the eyes to light (photosensitivity). There may also include reddening of the lips with cracking at the corners (cheilosis), tongue inflammation (glossitis), skin inflammation (dermatitis), swelling (edema), dizziness, hair loss, insomnia, trembling and delayed mental response.

Preservation of Vitamin B2

Foods lose Vitamin B2 when exposed to light. Therefore, they should not be stored in transparent glass containers.

One study done at Kaiser Permanente in California published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, required that volunteers take a daily dose of 300 mgs of magnesium along with 400 milligrams of riboflavin. Some also took 100 mgs of the herb, feverfew or 25 milligrams of riboflavin for three months.

What the study found was that those that took the 25 milligrams of riboflavin for three months and those that took the feverfew and the riboflavin had the same results as those who took the combination.

The 25 mg of riboflavin (vitamin B2) was just as effective as the combination of the higher doses of fiboflavin, feverfew, and magnesium. So the conclusion of that study was that 25 mg of riboflavin (vitamin B2) could be just as effective for preventing migraine headaches.