Neurologists at the University of Bergen in Norway found that the first-line medication often prescribed to prevent migraines may not be the best choice. The results of the research were published at: magazine European Journal of Neurology.
The authors compared different migraine treatments with the participation of 104 thousand people. Preventive treatments are used to reduce the number and severity of migraine attacks, while acute treatments are used to provide relief after migraines begin. The effectiveness of the first was judged by how long people stuck with them and how often they used the second group of methods.
Many patients use the second group of drugs, but the results showed that all preventive treatments were somewhat more effective in reducing the frequency, duration and intensity of migraine headaches. The greatest positive effect was observed to be provided by the CGRP inhibitors amitriptyline and simvastatin. Moreover, many of the cheaper options turned out to be just as effective as more expensive drugs.
All three drugs performed better than commonly used beta blockers in preventing migraines. CGRP inhibitors target the calcitonin gene-related peptide, which is associated with inflammation in the brain.
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