Search

Glutamatergic hyperactivity is implicated migraine pathogenesis. Also, LY293558, an a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)/kainate (KA) receptor antagonist, is effective in preclinical models of migraine. We therefore tested LY293558 in acute migraine. We conducted a randomized, triple-blind, parallel-group, double-dummy, multicentre trial of 1.2 mg/kg intravenous (IV) LY293558, 6 mg subcutaneous (SC) sumatriptan, or placebo in the treatment of acute migraine. The primary efficacy variable was the headache response rate, i.e. headache score improvement from moderate/severe at baseline to mild/none at 2 h. Of 45 enrolled patients, 44 patients (20M:24F; mean age ± SD = 40 ± 9 years) completed the study. Response rates were 69% for LY293558 (P = 0.017 vs. placebo), 86% for sumatriptan (P < 0.01 vs. placebo) and 25% for placebo. LY293558 and sumatriptan were superior to placebo (P < 0.01 for all comparisons) on all other measures of improvement in pain and migraine associated symptoms. Fifteen percent of patients who took LY293558 reported adverse events (AEs) (n = 2; one mild, one severe). Fifty-three percent of patients who took sumatriptan (n = 8; seven mild, one moderate) and 31% of those who received placebo reported AEs (n = 5; four mild, one severe). The efficacy and safety results of LY293558 in this small migraine proof of concept trial, together with supportive preclinical data, provide evidence for a potential role of nonvasoactive AMPA/KA antagonists in treating migraine. Larger trials are needed to further test the hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most people with episodic tension-type headache (TTH) treat themselves with over-the-counter analgesics. In the absence of clear evidence of dose-related efficacy of the two most commonly used analgesics, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and paracetamol (acetaminophen), this study compared two doses of each with placebo. In a double-blind, double-dummy, randomized parallel-groups comparative trial, 638 consenting subjects aged 16-65 years with episodic TTH (but not migraine) by IHS criteria were recruited from the UK general population by advertisement. They treated one episode of moderate or severe TTH with a single dose of 500 or 1000 mg aspirin, 500 or 1000 mg paracetamol or placebo. The primary objective was to compare aspirin 1000 mg with placebo, and the primary end-point was subjective pain relief (total or worthwhile) 2 h after treatment ('response'). Additionally, pain intensity on a 100-mm visual analogue scale and functional impairment were monitored regularly for 4 h and at 24 h, although rescue medication was allowed after 2 h. The analysis was of the intention-to-treat population of 542 who took treatment (all providing outcome data). Treatment groups were matched at baseline. Aspirin 1000 mg (75.7% response rate; P = 0.0009) and to a lesser extent aspirin 500 mg (70.3%; P = 0.011) and paracetamol 1000 mg (71.2%; P = 0.007), but not paracetamol 500 mg (63.8%; P = 0.104), were statistically more effective than placebo despite a high placebo-response rate (54.5%). Outcome was not affected by headache intensity at baseline. Secondary end-points including functional recovery (by median times of 4.0-13.5 h) were consistent with these findings, although a minority of subjects recorded long-duration functional impairment (37-54 h). Adverse events reported by 13.4-18.9% of subjects were mild or moderate, and transient. No safety concerns arose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S-fluoxetine is the long-acting enantiomer of the racemic antidepressant serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Sixty-five patients needing migraine prophylaxis were recruited into a phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. After a 1-month placebo run-in, 53 patients met entry criteria with regard to attack frequency and were randomized, 27 to S-fluoxetine and 26 to matching placebo. Three failed to start treatment and there were 17 early discontinuations, 9 from S-fluoxetine, 8 from placebo, at similar times and for similar reasons. The primary efficacy variable was attack frequency and analysis compared decline-from-baseline in the two groups. This was earlier and greater (1.7 attacks/28 days, or 52%) on active therapy than on placebo (1.1 attacks/28 days, or 27%), and statistically significant in month 2 (F = 4.93; p = 0.033) and month 4 (F = 4.55; p = 0.041). As secondary measures of efficacy, migraine-days per month and Patient's Global Impression of Disease Severity coherently reflected the changes in attack frequency. Mean attack severity and acute medication use (doses per attack) were unaltered by either treatment. There were no serious adverse events. Withdrawals for adverse events were four from each group but none was considered causally related. The finding of greater efficacy of S-fluoxetine than of placebo should be interpreted conservatively, since the analysis in the final month was made on only half of the entered patients. It supports progression to phase III evaluation, which was the purpose of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alniditan is a new 5HT1D receptor agonist, belonging to a different chemical class from sumatriptan and other indole derivatives used or being developed for the treatment of acute migraine. In a multinational double-blind randomized parallel-groups dose-finding trial, alniditan was given subcutaneously in hospital to patients with migraine headache of moderate or severe intensity at doses of 0.8 mg (n = 44), 1.0 mg (n = 42), 1.2 mg (n = 46) and 1.4 mg (n = 39). Efficacy, tolerability and safety of each dose were compared with those of placebo (n = 41). At 2 h after injection, headache was absent or mild in 83% and 82% of patients receiving alniditan 1.2 and 1.4 mg respectively compared with 39% for placebo (p < or = 0.002). Complete relief from headache was achieved in 72% (1.4 mg). Time to onset of relief decreased with increasing alniditan dose, and there was a dose-dependent reduction in headache recurrence rate: 25% of patients receiving 1.4 mg had responded by 15 min and headache recurred within 24 h in only 16% of the patients who initially responded to alniditan 1.4 mg, significantly less than for placebo (p = 0.018). Alniditan was superior to placebo in reducing the associated symptoms of nausea, phonophobia and photophobia, and in increasing patients' functional ability. The use of rescue medication was reduced when compared with placebo, and up to 87% of patients said that they would use the drug again if available. No clinically relevant cardiovascular effects were seen, nor consistent changes in clinical laboratory findings. Adverse effects, mainly head pressure, paraesthesia, and hot flushes, were reported by 34% of placebo-treated patients and up to 70% of patients receiving alniditan, but all doses were very well tolerated and no clear relationship with dose was established. Comparison with published findings suggests that alniditan 1.4 mg sc may have advantages over sumatriptan 6 mg sc in providing complete relief from acute migraine headache, and may be associated with fewer headache recurrences within 24 h. Both of these suggestions warrant further and larger trials of alniditan in acute migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]