Frovatriptan versus zolmitriptan for the acute treatment of migraine with aura: a subgroup analysis of a double-blind, randomized, multicenter, Italian study.

Abstract

Migraine with aura affects ~20-30 % of migraineurs and it is much less common than migraine without aura. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of frovatriptan 2.5 mg and zolmitriptan 2.5 mg in the treatment of migraine with aura. Analysis was carried out in a subset of 18 subjects with migraine with aura (HIS criteria) out of the 107 enrolled in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. According to the study design, each patient had to treat three episodes of migraine in no more than 3 months with one drug, before switching to the other treatment. The rate of pain-free episodes at 2 h was significantly (p < 0.05) larger under frovatriptan (45.8 %) than under zolmitriptan (16.7 %). Pain free at 4 h, pain relief at 2 and 4 h and recurrent episodes were similar between the two treatments, while sustained pain-free episode was significantly (p < 0.05) more frequent during frovatriptan treatment (33.3 vs. 8.3 % zolmitriptan). Our study suggests that frovatriptan is superior to zolmitriptan in the immediate treatment of patients with migraine with aura, and it is capable of maintaining its acute analgesic effect over 48 h.

• Authors: Vincenzo Tullo, Gianni Allais, Marcella Curone, Michel D Ferrari, Stefano Omboni, Chiara Benedetto, Bruno Colombo, Dario Zava, Gennaro Bussone
• Journal: Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology (Neurol Sci) Vol. 33 Suppl 1 Pg. S61-4 (May 2012) ISSN: 1590-3478 [Electronic] Italy
• PMID: 22644173 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Carbazoles
• Oxazolidinones
• Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists
• Tryptamines
• zolmitriptan
• frovatriptan

Topics

• Adult
• Carbazoles (therapeutic use)
• Cross-Over Studies
• Double-Blind Method
• Female
• Humans
• Italy (epidemiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Migraine with Aura (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Oxazolidinones (therapeutic use)
• Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists (therapeutic use)
• Time Factors
• Treatment Outcome
• Tryptamines (therapeutic use)