Drug slashes migraine days by half in early trial — and it may work with completely ‘new mechanism’
Ozempic drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity can also treat migraine, even when drugs do not trigger weight loss, suggests the first research.
A preliminary report, published in the journal Headache And presented on June 21 at the Conference of the European Neurology Academy (EAN), suggests that Liraglutide – a drug used to treat obesity and diabetes – reduced the number of days that patients have undergone severe migraines by almost half. Liraglutide belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonistswhich also includes semaglutide, the active ingredient of the drug drug on diabetes and Wegovy weight loss medication.
But while the idea of treating migraines with these drugs is “extremely innovative and avant-garde”, the new results must be taken with caution. It is because the test was small and did not include a comparison group that did not use the drug, Dr Alex SinclairA neurologist at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom who was not involved in the study, said in Live Science.
“This is an absolutely attractive research study because it gives us a really interesting idea of a new mechanism for delivering drugs for migraine,” said Sinclair in Live Science. “But it’s very preliminary.”
This “very important and fascinating observation could potentially provide” another treatment option to chronic migraine patients, especially for those who had not previously responded to other current treatments available, “said Dr Chia-Chun ChiangAssociate Professor of Neurology at the Minnesota Mayo Clinic who was not involved in the study.
Migraine days cut in half
To assess the effect of liraglutide on migraine, Dr Simone BracaA neurologist at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, and colleagues have given 31 patients with obesity and chronic high frequency or chronic migraine 0.6 milligram of Liraglutide per day for a week, followed by 1.2 mg per day for the next 11 weeks.
After 12 weeks, almost half of the patients indicated that their number of headache per month had dropped, from 20 to nine on average. It was a “enormous effect,” said Braca at Live Science.
Seven people saw their leading days drop by 75% and a patient’s migraines have completely disappeared. Overall, patients also reported a sharp drop in the amount of migraine that hampered their daily lives. Above all, participants did not lose weight during the study. This suggests that improving migraine was not linked to weight loss, remarkable observation because obesity is known for increase The risk of serious headaches.
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Braca stressed that these patients had been selected because they had not responded to other migraine drugs, such as antibodies that target the peptide linked to the calcitonin gene (CGRP), a molecule released in the brain during a migraine.
The authors of the study have theories on what could happen, but they have not collected measures that could prove an action mechanism. GLP-1 drugs can reduce pressure inside the skull by lowering the production of cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes the brain and spinal cord, suggested the researchers. This, in turn, could reduce the release of CGRPThat many scientists think of fueling migraine pain.
In support of this hypothesis, the Braca team underlined a previous study led by Sinclair and published in the journal Brain In 2023. He suggested that exenatide, another GLP-1 medication lowered brain pressure. It should be noted that the drug seemed to reduce the days of migraine among the participants in the study, although it is unable to show a strong statistical difference.
Other possible mechanisms underlying the effect in the new results of the study could be that Liraglutide has directly reduced the release of CGRP or that the metabolism of glucose regulated by the drug, said Chiang. Previous research suggested that migraine could be linked to glucose metabolism problems.
The new study has important limits, however, said Sinclair. First, the study was very small, with only 31 participants, and it only lasted 12 weeks. Another significant limitation is that the trial did not include a placebo group. THE placeboThrough which people’s symptoms even improve with dummy treatment, is particularly strong with regard to self -detached pain.
“We have a great response from the placebo in research on headaches,” said Sinclair in Live Science.
Braca agreed that the trial had limits. However, “the history of several previous treatment failures and the extent of the observed response reduce the probability of a significant placebo effect,” said Braca.
The results must now be confirmed in larger clinical trials controlled by placebo before being able to guide the treatment of migraine patients. If it is confirmed, however, the results could open a new range of survey of migraines, said Braca.
This article is for information only and is not supposed to offer medical advice.
