Original Research, Human Studies, Pharmacology/Drug Development, Migraine/Headache

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have substantiated changes in multiple brain regions of functional activity in patients with vestibular migraine. However, few studies have assessed functional connectivity within and between specific brain networks in vestibular migraine.

To ascertain whether intravenous infusion of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) can induce migraine-like headache in people with persistent post-traumatic headache attributed to mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and no pre-existing migraine.

Migraine is a common disabling disease with a complex pathophysiology. Headache is a frequent side effect after intravenous adenosine administration, while adenosine receptor antagonist, caffeine, relieves migraine headache. These observations suggest a possible involvement of adenosine signaling in headache and migraine pathophysiology.In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 18 participants diagnosed with migraine without aura received 120 µg/kg/min adenosine or placebo over 20 minutes.Headache intensity, migraine associated symptoms, vital signs, the diameter of the superficial temporal artery (STA), blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (VMCA) and facial skin blood flow were measured at baseline and every 10 minutes until two hours post-infusion start. The primary endpoint was the difference in incidence of migraine attacks after adenosine compared to placebo.Eighteen participants completed the study. We found no difference in incidence of migraine following adenosine (7/18, 39%) compared to placebo (3/18, 17%) (P = 0.29). Fourteen participants (14/18, 78%) reported headache after adenosine compared to placebo (6/18, 33%) (P < 0.01). Adenosine increased heart rate (P < 0.001), facial skin blood flow (P < 0.05) and STA diameter (AUCT0-20min, P = 0.01), and decreased VMCA (AUCT0-20min, P < 0.001) compared to placebo.Adenosine induced headache accompanied by a short-lasting (< 30 min) dilation of intra- and extracerebral arteries. The non-significant migraine induction might be due to the presence of several adenosine receptors with counteracting signaling, highlighting the need of more selective modulators to dissect the implication of adenosine in migraine.

: To assess the available clinical and economic evidence of erenumab vs onabotulinumtoxinA for chronic migraine (CM) and present de-novo indirect treatment comparisons (ITCs) based on available clinical trial data.: We conducted ITCs based on results from the pivotal 295 trial (NCT02066415) of erenumab vs placebo and published aggregate data from the PREEMPT 1 (NCT00156910) and PREEMPT 2 (NCT00168428) trials of onabotulinumtoxinA vs placebo. ITCs were conducted for CM patients with and without prior administration of onabotulinumtoxinA and among CM patients with ≥3 prior preventive treatment failures. Efficacy was assessed based on responder rates of ≥50% reductions in monthly headache days (MHDs) and monthly migraine days (MMDs) as well as change from baseline in both MHDs and MMDs.: Among patients with CM, 140 mg erenumab was associated with a reduction of 1.2 MHD (p = 0.092) and a reduction of 1.0 MMD (p = 0.174) compared to onabotulinumtoxinA at Week 12. Among onabotulinumtoxinA-naïve patients, erenumab was associated with a reduction of 1.8 MHD (p = 0.026) and 1.4 MMD (p = 0.080) at Week 12. Among patients that had received ≥3 prior preventive treatments, the odds ratios comparing erenumab vs onabotulinumtoxinA were 1.7 for ≥50% responder rates based on reductions in MHD (p = 0.155) and 1.7 for ≥50% responder rates based on reductions in MMD (p = 0.140). These findings suggest directional benefits (although not reaching the threshold of statistical significance) associated with erenumab vs onabotulinumtoxinA for the preventive treatment of CM. Evidence from this study may inform healthcare stakeholders in treatment selection and optimization for patients with CM.

Preclinical studies have indicated insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) as a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of migraines. We aimed to investigate the causal effect of circulating IGF1 levels on migraine risk using the two-sample Mendelian randomization method.

Migraine is one of the most prevalent and disabling medical illnesses. Preventive drugs are used to reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of attacks. Most patients were no longer on their medication due to contraindications or poor clinical response. Therefore, there is need for novel prophylactic agents for migraine. New preventive treatments are those of the class of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP)-targeting therapies. We aimed to assess the real level of therapeutic innovation of these new drugs.

Migraine headaches in children may cause attacks that require abortive treatment. This study evaluated the incidence and efficacy of medications used for relieving migraine headache attacks in the pediatric population in Israel. Children 6-18 years of age who were diagnosed in our pediatric neurology clinic as having migraine headaches were enrolled into the study. Children and their parents recorded the children response to abortive treatment during consecutive migraine attacks. Fifty children, with 116 migraine attacks, were included in the study (30 females; mean age 12; range 6-18). Forty-seven (94%) reported on abortive treatment on the first migraine attack, 43 (86%) on a second migraine attack and 26 (52%) on a third migraine attack. During the first recorded migraine attack, 41 children (87.5%) reported taking only one type of medication for each headache episode, mainly ibuprofen or acetaminophen; less than a quarter used dipyrone (metamizol). Overall the improvement rate after two hours was 65.4% ± 27 for ibuprofen, 59.8 ± 35.3 for acetaminophen and 50.9 ± 27.4 for dipyrone without statistical difference. However, in the first recorded headache episode, males had a significantly better response to acetaminophen, compared to ibuprofen (95% ± 28 vs 75 ± 20). In conclusion, Children with migraine in Israel mainly use a single medication for each headache episode. Ibuprofen is the most commonly used abortive treatment; however, acetaminophen was associated with a better response among some of our patients.

To gather information about prescription of triptans and to evaluate whether vascular comorbidity differs in users and nonusers of triptans over the age of 50 years.

We aimed to assess the differences in quantitative sensory testing between chronic migraine and healthy controls and to explore the association between pain sensitivities and outcomes in chronic migraine following preventive treatment.

Restless legs syndrome is a highly prevalent comorbidity of migraine; however, its genetic contributions remain unclear.