Headache is reported to be the most common neurological disorder. Migraine headache (MH), one of the most common types of headaches, affects patients at different age groups, with its peak at middle age and with a sex affinity for females. There are several medical categories for the treatment of MH (both for prevention and alleviation of MH attacks); these options notwithstanding, a large proportion of the affected patients are not satisfied because they have refractory migraine.

Rosa damascena Mill. is a member of the Rosaceae family, which is not only known for its perfuming uses, but also as a medicinal herb with a long history of usage in traditional medicine. In addition, Rosa damascena essential oil has a variety of pharmacological effects, including its effect on the central nervous system and its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, which actually reaffirm what had been found in traditional medicine.

Researchers evaluated the effect of a topical formulation of Rosa damascena Mill. oil on MH, applying the syndrome differentiation model. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial, 40 patients with MH were randomly assigned to 2 groups. The patients were treated for the first 2 consecutive MH attacks by topical Rosa damascena oil or placebo. Then, after one week of washout period, cross-over was done. Pain intensity of the patients’ MH was recorded at the beginnig and ten-sequence time schedule of attacks up to 24 h. In addition, patients’ photophobia, phonophobia, and nausea and/or vomiting (N/V) were recorded as secondary outcomes. Finally, the collected data were analyzed in a syndrome differentiation manner to assess the effect of Rosa damascena oil on Hot- and Cold-type MH.

Finally, applying the syndrome differentiation model, the mean score of MH pain intensity turned out to be significantly lower in patients with “hot” type migraine syndrome at 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after R. damascena oil application compared to “cold” types (as shown below).

Taken together, it seems that syndrome differentiation can help in the selection of patients who may benefit from the topical Rosa damascena oil for short-term relief of pain intensity in MH.

Niazi, M., Hashempur, M. H., Taghizadeh, M., Heydari, M., & Shariat, A. (2017). Efficacy of topical Rose (Rosa damascena Mill.) oil for migraine headache: A randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled cross-over trial. Complementary therapies in medicine, 34, 35-41. [Link]