Greater Occipital Nerve (GON) Block Effectivity in the Treatment of Chronic Migraine: 6 Months Follow up

Placebo-Controlled Randomized Double Blind Trial of Blocking Greater Occipital Nerve Block With Bupivacaine Versus Saline in the Treatment of Chronic Migraine

Status

Withdrawn

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02578719

Acronym

GON

Enrollment

Registered

2015-10-19

Start date

2016-07-31

Completion date

2018-07-31

Last updated

2018-01-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Migraine Disorders

Brief summary

This study evaluates effectiveness of greater occipital nerve blocks with bupivacaine compared to placebo in chronic migraine patients.

Detailed description

The greater occipital nerve (GON), which derives most of its fibers from the C2 dorsal root, is the primary sensory nerve of the occipital region. The response to GON blockade was not simply dependent on the direct local anesthetic effect of the injection . The mechanism of action might have been via changes in brain nociceptive pathways. Another possible explanation for these findings is, therefore, that GON injections initiated diffuse noxious inhibitory controls, independent of anesthetic effect . Neurophysiological and clinical data suggest there is a functional connection between the sensory occipital segments and the trigeminal nociceptive system in humans.

Interventions

DRUGbupivacaine

marcaine %0.5 20 ml flacon

DRUGsaline

%0.9 sodium chloride

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 55 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Chronic migraine headache according to International Headache Society Classification Criteria * Patients who are not using any prophylacting agent

Exclusion criteria

* patients given similar treatments before * pregnant women * hereditary diseases causing bleeding * patients who have intracranial tumor or operation in posterior fossa * allergic reactions to local anesthetics.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
50% decrease in migraine severity	6 months

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026