Which preventive therapy for tension-type headache is a tricyclic antidepressant?

Prepare for the Pharmacology IV – Headache Therapeutics Test. Review the therapeutic approaches, tackle multiple-choice questions with explanations, and boost your test-taking confidence. Ace your exam with precision!

Multiple Choice

Which preventive therapy for tension-type headache is a tricyclic antidepressant?

Tricyclic antidepressants are used for preventive treatment of chronic tension-type headache because they dampen central pain signaling and can improve sleep, both of which help reduce headache frequency and intensity. They work by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin, which enhances the brain’s ability to modulate pain through descending pathways. In practice, a low-dose TCA such as amitriptyline is often prescribed at night for several months to prevent headache days and lessen severity. Be mindful of common side effects like drowsiness, dry mouth, constipation, weight gain, and potential cardiac effects, which is why they’re used with caution in certain patients (older adults, those with heart conditions, glaucoma, etc.). Other listed preventive approaches aren’t TCAs. Antiseizure medications can be used for some headache types but aren’t the classic preventive for tension-type headaches, and psychophysiologic therapy (like biofeedback and relaxation techniques) is nonpharmacologic. So, the preventive therapy that is a tricyclic antidepressant is the TCA option.

Tricyclic antidepressants are used for preventive treatment of chronic tension-type headache because they dampen central pain signaling and can improve sleep, both of which help reduce headache frequency and intensity. They work by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin, which enhances the brain’s ability to modulate pain through descending pathways. In practice, a low-dose TCA such as amitriptyline is often prescribed at night for several months to prevent headache days and lessen severity.

Be mindful of common side effects like drowsiness, dry mouth, constipation, weight gain, and potential cardiac effects, which is why they’re used with caution in certain patients (older adults, those with heart conditions, glaucoma, etc.).

Other listed preventive approaches aren’t TCAs. Antiseizure medications can be used for some headache types but aren’t the classic preventive for tension-type headaches, and psychophysiologic therapy (like biofeedback and relaxation techniques) is nonpharmacologic. So, the preventive therapy that is a tricyclic antidepressant is the TCA option.

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