Acupuncture, whether real or fake, may be as good as medication in the treatment of migraine, the results of a new study indicate.

Migraine is characterised by a severe one-sided headache that can last up to three days. It can be accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and/or noise. Around 400,000 Irish people are affected.

A team of researcher set out to assess the efficacy of various treatments for the condition. They looked at standard drugs used in the prevention of migraine, a traditional type of acupuncture known as verum and a 'sham' type of acupuncture.

Over 950 people were involved. All had two to six migraines per month. They were divided into three groups, with each group being assigned one of the types of treatment. Those receiving acupuncture, whether real or sham, were given 10 sessions of treatment over a six week period. The remainder were given continuous medication for the same period.

The participants were followed up 26 weeks after the start of the treatment.

The study found that those in the traditional acupuncture group saw a reduction of migraine days by at least 50%. In other words, if they had suffered six migraine headaches a month, they now only suffered three.

Those in the sham acupuncture group saw a 47% reduction, while those in the medication group saw a 40% reduction.

"Treatment outcomes for migraine do not differ between patients treated with sham acupuncture, verum acupuncture or standard therapy", the German researchers said.

Details of these findings are published in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology.