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701 in the present study as much as 81 % of the patients preferred propranolol and none preferred the placebo. That does not exclude any placebo effect but it does show that propranolol has antimigraine properties. Several of the patients who improved on propranolol complained that their migraine attacks increased in frequency, intensity, and duration during the start of the placebo period. Therefore there is little reason to suspect a carry-over effect of propranolol.The optimal antimigraine dose of propranolol is not known. We, like Lund-Larsen (1969), found doses as low as 40-60 mg daily effective. Doses of more than 160 mg daily were not given. Propranolol is effective in migraine probably because it prevents vasodilatation of the cerebral arteries. Seemingly the various beta-blockers act differently in migraine. The pharmacological properties of the different beta-blocking drugs are known to differ. Propranolol has no intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (Johnson, 1967; Barret, 1971) and its action on the peripheral vascular beta-receptors is said to be greater than that of other beta-blocking agents. Both pindolol and practolol are cardioselective (Barret, 1971; Beumer and Hardouck, 1971; Gunther and Kamburoff, 1971; McNeill, 1971) and have little effect at the peripheral vascular beta-receptors.The placebo and propranolol (Inderal) were kindly supplied by Impe,rial Chemical Industries Ltd. We thank the company for their help in randomizing the substances. We also thank Cand. Real.Harald Horten, department of statistics, University of Trondheim -NTH, for the statistical evaluation.

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