Microneedles for the treatment of migraine and orofacial pain: A narrative review
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Migraine is a common neurological disorder and a primary headache condition. Despite its central origin, migraine pain may be referred to the orofacial region via trigeminal pathways, resulting in phenotypic overlap with other orofacial pain (OFP) conditions. OFP represents a highly prevalent and heterogeneous group of pain disorders that substantially impair quality of life. Microneedle (MN) technology enables minimally invasive, localized, or transdermal drug delivery and has emerged as a promising mechanism-guided strategy for the management of migraine and other OFP conditions. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to systematically summarize the current evidence on MN-based technologies for the treatment of migraine and other OFP conditions and discuss the therapeutic implications, limitations, and future directions of MN technologies. METHODS: This study is a narrative review. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were systematically searched from inception to November 18, 2025. English-language studies evaluating MN-based technologies for migraine and other OFP conditions, including temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and oral mucosal ulcers, in animal models or human participants were included. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included, covering migraine (n = 4), TMD (n = 2), and oral mucosal ulcers (n = 5). Across included studies, evidence for MN-based interventions was most advanced in migraine. Preclinical studies demonstrated that transdermal or…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Calcium Ions in the Physiology and Pathology of the Central Nervous System
- AI-powered in silico twins: redefining precision medicine through simulation, personalization, and predictive healthcare
- In silico functional, structural and pathogenicity analysis of missense single nucleotide polymorphisms in human MCM6 gene
- In Silico drug repurposing pipeline using deep learning and structure based approaches in epilepsy
- Targeting serotonin receptors with phytochemicals – an in-silico study
- In silico exploration of anti-prostate cancer compounds from differential expressed genes
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.