Study, 2026
Does rimegepant help prevent migraines that happen around your period?
Yes, in this study rimegepant worked well. Women who took it around their period had fewer, shorter, and less severe migraines, and their quality of life improved. However, this was a small study without a comparison group.
What they did
43 Chinese women with menstrual migraines took 75 mg rimegepant every other day during the 5 to 6 days around their period (from 2 days before menstruation to 3 days after it started). They did this for 3 menstrual cycles. Researchers measured how long migraines lasted, how often they happened, how severe they were, and how much they affected daily activities.
What they found
After 3 cycles, attack duration decreased by 20.5 hours from baseline. Headache severity improved by 6 points. The number of perimenstrual headache days improved by 1.1 day. Quality of life scores improved by 11.4 points on one measure and 10.1 points on another. Only 2 women reported mild side effects. Anxiety, depression, and sleep quality did not improve.
What it means for you
Rimegepant taken around your period may help prevent menstrual migraines and improve quality of life. But the study was small and only included Chinese women, so we don't know if it works the same way for all women everywhere. There was no control group, so we can't be completely certain rimegepant caused the improvement rather than other factors.
20.5 hours
attack duration decrease
6 points
headache severity reduction
1.1 day
perimenstrual headache days improvement
About the study
- Original title
- Efficacy and safety of rimegepant in Chinese women with pure menstrual migraine: a retrospective observational study
- Authors
- Ye W, Fan Y, Liu J et al.
- Journal
- BMC neurology
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 43
- What was tested
- 75 mg rimegepant every other day during perimenstrual period (from 2 days before to 3 days after menstruation start)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1186/s12883-026-04859-9
Topics
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