Trial reportThe journal of headache and pain2026
Sildenafil provokes headache but not migraine in men with migraine without aura: a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial.
Trial report in The journal of headache and pain, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of semaglutide introduction on the use of triptans: an interrupted-time series.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Sex-dependent central amygdala physiology after supradural CGRP exposure is associated with migraine-like behaviors.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-mediated mechanisms plays a role in migraine pathophysiology. Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, increases intracellular cGMP and can reliably induce migraine attacks in women. However, its migraine-inducing potential in men remains largely unknown.
methodsIn this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 12 men with migraine without aura received sildenafil (100 mg) and placebo in separate sessions ≥ 7 days apart. An open-label parallel cohort of 15 women with migraine received sildenafil (100 mg) under similar experimental conditions. The primary endpoints were (i) the incidence of migraine-like attacks after sildenafil compared with placebo in men, and (ii) the incidence of migraine-like attacks after sildenafil in men and women.
resultsIn men, sildenafil induced headache more frequently than placebo (83% vs. 25%, p = 0.033), whereas the incidence of migraine-like attacks did not differ between sildenafil and placebo (25% vs. 17%, p = 0.500). In women, sildenafil induced headache in all participants and migraine-like attacks in 67%, a significantly higher proportion than in men (67% vs. 25%, p = 0.038). Adverse events were more frequent after sildenafil than placebo, most commonly flushing and nasal congestion.
conclusionsSildenafil provoked headache but not migraine in men with migraine without aura, whereas women showed a markedly greater susceptibility to migraine induction. These findings suggest that cGMP-mediated mechanisms contribute less prominently to migraine generation in men.
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