Study finds headache drug could prevent overuse of acute migraine medications

Chronic migraine is a neurological condition estimated to affect up to 2.2% of people globally

A study led by researchers at King’s College London (KCL) and funded by AbbVie has revealed that a headache drug helps to prevent the overuse of acute migraine medication.

Published in Neurology, AbbVie’s Qulipta (atogepant) was shown to be effective in decreasing migraine days in adults living with chronic migraine.

Estimated to affect up to 2.2% of the global population, chronic migraine is a debilitating neurological disease where people regularly experience at least 15 days a month of headaches.

Most often, headaches can be intensified by the overuse of acute migraine medications such as triptans, ergots and simple analgesics, leading to worse pain relief outcomes over a 24-hour period.

Funded by AbbVie, the study assessed the efficacy of Qulipta in preventing chronic migraine in patients who met the criteria for acute medicine overuse as well as those who did not.

Patients were randomised into one of three groups: a 30mg Qulipta twice daily group, a 60mg Qulipta once daily group and a placebo control group.

After three months of self-reporting the regularity of their migraine, researchers found that nearly 50% of patients in the overused medication 30mg group and over 41% in the 60mg group saw an over 50% reduction in the number of days they experienced migraines in a month, compared to nearly 25% who received placebo in addition to their current medication.

In patients who did not overuse their medication, over 39% of the 30mg group and nearly 40% of the 60mg group achieved a more than 50% reduction compared to nearly 29% in the placebo arm.

Study lead author Peter Goadsby, professor of neurology, KCL’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, commented: “Based on our findings, treatment with [Qulipta] could potentially decrease the risk of developing rebound headaches by reducing the use of pain medications and could lead to an improved quality of life for those living with migraine.”

Researchers plan to conduct further studies to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of Qulipta.