Randomised trial, 2023
Does the migraine drug ubrogepant work differently for period migraines than other migraines?
No. In 734 women, ubrogepant worked about the same whether the migraine happened around the period or at other times. This is reliable information from a large study of an approved drug.
What they did
An analysis of 734 women from a large migraine drug trial who took ubrogepant (50 mg or 100 mg) to treat migraines. Researchers compared whether the drug worked differently for migraines that started 2 days before or during the first 3 days of the period versus migraines at other times. They measured complete pain relief (pain freedom) at 2 hours.
What they found
Period migraines: 28.7% achieved complete pain relief at 2 hours with 50 mg, and 29.7% with 100 mg. Non-period migraines: 22.1% with 50 mg and 25.3% with 100 mg. These differences were not statistically significant. Partial pain relief was similar: 64-68% for both types.
What it means for you
Ubrogepant works about the same for period-related migraines as other migraines. However, complete pain relief only happens in about 28-30% of women, which is modest. This analysis was done after the main trial finished, so it was not the original research question.
734
women analyzed
28.7%
pain freedom at 2h for period migraine (50 mg)
22.1%
pain freedom at 2h for non-period migraine (50 mg)
About the study
- Original title
- Safety and efficacy of ubrogepant for the acute treatment of perimenstrual migraine attacks: A post hoc analysis
- Authors
- MacGregor EA, Hutchinson S, Lai H et al.
- Journal
- Headache
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 734
- What was tested
- Ubrogepant 50 mg or 100 mg taken when a migraine started
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/head.14619
Topics
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