Self Help

The first double-blind study was done at the London Migraine Clinic, and involved patients who reported being helped by feverfew. Those patients who received the placebo (and as a result stopped using feverfew) experienced a significant increase in the frequency and severity of headache nausea, and vomiting during the 6 months of the study, while patients
taking feverfew showed no change in the frequency or severity of their symptoms.

Two patients in the placebo group who had been in complete remission during self-treatment with feverfew leaves developed recurrence of incapacitating migraine and had to withdraw from the study. The resumption of self-treatment led to renewed remission of symptoms in both patients.

The second double-blind study was performed at the University of Nottingham. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that feverfew was effective in reducing the number and severity of migraine attacks. In the study, seventy-two patients were randomly allocated to receive either one capsule of dried feverfew leaves (82 milligrams) daily or placebo.

After 4 months patients were transferred to the other treatment for another 4 months. Treatment with feverfew was associated with a reduction in the mean number and severity of attacks and in the degree of vomiting; duration of single attacks was unaltered.