A new study has shown that triptan-based medications may be more effective in treating acute migraines than newer, more expensive drugs. The analysis was published Thursday (18) in the journal BMJ.
Triptans are a group of medications that work to treat migraines and cluster headaches — a type of severe, one-sided headache. They work by narrowing blood vessels in the brain and preventing the release of chemicals that cause pain and inflammation.
According to the study, four types of triptans — eletriptan, rizatriptan, sumatriptan, and zolmitriptan — were more effective in relieving migraine pain than more expensive, recently marketed medications such as lasmiditan, rimegepant, and ubrogepant. These newer medications were comparable to acetaminophen and most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
To reach their conclusion, the researchers searched databases to identify randomized controlled trials published up to June 24, 2023, that compared licensed oral medications for the treatment of acute migraine in adults.
A total of 137 randomized controlled trials, comprising 89,445 participants with a mean age of 40 years, 86% of whom were women, were included in the analysis. Studies were allocated to one of 17 individual drugs or placebo.
The results of the systematic review of these studies show that all medications were more effective than placebo in relieving pain after two hours of use. Most of them were effective in providing sustained symptom relief for up to 24 hours, except paracetamol and naratriptan.
When the drugs were compared with each other, eletriptan was the most effective drug for pain relief within two hours, followed by rizatriptan, sumatriptan, and zolmitriptan. For sustained pain relief for up to 24 hours, the most effective drugs were eletriptan and ibuprofen.
For the researchers, the results of the study indicate that the best performing triptans should be considered as treatment for migraine episodes and should be included in the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines to promote global accessibility and uniform standards of care.
However, scientists stress that triptan-based medications should be avoided by people with heart problems or unpleasant side effects. Despite this, they state, press releasethat the results “offer the best available evidence to guide the choice of acute oral drug interventions for migraine episodes” and “should be used to guide treatment choices, promoting shared and informed decision-making between patients and physicians.”
This content was originally published in Study reveals which medications may be most effective for migraines on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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