Chronic migraine is a neurological disorder estimated to affect up to 2.2% of people worldwide.
A study led by researchers at King’s College London (KCL) and funded by AbbVie has found that headache medicines could help prevent overuse of acute migraine medications.
A study published in the journal Neurology showed that AbbVie’s Qulipta (atogepant) was effective in reducing the number of migraine days in adults with chronic migraines.
Chronic migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder that is estimated to affect up to 2.2% of the world’s population, with people experiencing regular headaches for at least 15 days per month.
In many cases, overuse of acute migraine medications such as triptans, ergot, and simple painkillers can worsen headaches and reduce pain relief over a 24-hour period.
The AbbVie-funded study evaluated the effectiveness of Qulipta in preventing chronic migraine headaches in patients who did and did not meet criteria for acute substance abuse.
Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 30 mg of Qulipta twice daily, 60 mg of Qulipta once daily, or a placebo control group.
After self-reporting migraine frequency over a three-month period, the researchers found that about 50 percent of patients in the 30-mg overdose group and more than 41 percent in the 60-mg group experienced a 50% or greater reduction in the number of days they experienced migraines per month, compared with about 25 percent of patients who received a placebo in addition to their current medication.
Among patients who did not overdose on the drug, more than 39 percent of those in the 30 mg group and nearly 40 percent of those in the 60 mg group achieved a reduction of 50 percent or more, compared with nearly 29 percent in the placebo group.
Lead study author Peter Goadsby, Professor of Neurology at the KCL Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, said: “Based on our findings, treatment[with Clipta]has the potential to reduce the risk of rebound headaches by reducing the use of painkillers, which could lead to improved quality of life for migraine sufferers.”
The researchers plan to conduct further studies to evaluate Qulipta’s long-term effectiveness and safety.
