The 5-HT(1B/1D/1F) agonist
eletriptan, at an oral dose of 80 mg, has been shown to be more efficacious than
sumatriptan 100 mg and placebo in the treatment of
migraine attacks with or without
aura. Another commonly prescribed oral treatment for
migraine attacks is
Cafergot (1 mg
ergotamine tartrate with 100 mg
caffeine per
tablet). The efficacy, tolerability and safety of 40- and 80-mg doses of
eletriptan and 2
tablets of
Cafergot were compared in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 733
migraine patients. Patients recorded symptoms at baseline (before treatment) and 1, 2, 4 and 24 h after dosing.
Headache intensity was assessed on a 4-point scale (3 = severe
pain, 2 = moderate
pain, 1 = mild
pain, 0 = no
pain). Significantly more
eletriptan-treated patients (80 mg, 68%; 40 mg, 54%) than
Cafergot-treated patients (33%; p < 0.001) reported
headache response (improvement from moderate-to-severe to mild or no
pain) at 2 h. Substantially more
eletriptan recipients reported no
pain (80 mg, 38%; 40 mg, 28%;
Cafergot, 10%; placebo, 5%; p < 0.001).
Eletriptan headache response rates at 1 h were significantly higher (80 mg, 39%; 40 mg, 29%;
Cafergot, 13%; placebo, 13%; p < 0.002 for each comparison). Both doses of
eletriptan were significantly more effective than
Cafergot in reducing
nausea (p < 0.0001),
photophobia (80 mg, p < 0.0001; 40 mg, p < 0.002),
phonophobia (80 mg, p < 0.0001; 40 mg, p < 0.003) and functional impairment (p < or = 0.001) at 2 h. Adverse events were generally mild or moderate and transient. This randomised trial shows that oral
eletriptan is more efficacious in the acute treatment of
migraine than oral
Cafergot and is well tolerated.