New research released on December 23, 2024, in Neurology®, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology demonstrates that atogepant is an orally inhaled migraine-preventing medication that works quickly. Atogepant is a Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist that has a new approach for consumers affected by migraines and its unpleasant adverse effects.
Dr. Richard B. Lipton, who is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and an author of the study focussed on the currently used prophylactic treatments for migraine. Lipton addressed that the current medications take several weeks or months to reach the best potential efficacy, thereby causing the patients to stop taking them as prescribed.
The information for the present study was derived from the three clinical trials which aimed at testing the safety and efficacy of atogepant in patients throughout 12 weeks.
The ADVANCE trial comprised 222 participants who were on atogepant and 214 participants who were considered as the placebo. The ELEVATE trial recruited 151 patients with episodic migraine that could not be treated by other prophylactic measures and 154 patients with the placebo. The PROGRESS trial was evaluated in 256 subjects with chronic migraine and 246 were considered placebos. Episodic migraines were considered as 14 migraine days in a month, and chronic migraines involved more than 15 headache days where eight are reported to be migraine attacks.
On the first day, the study demonstrated that atogepant provided quick relief, significantly minimizing the likelihood of migraines compared to a placebo. In the ADVANCE trial, atogepant’s success rate was 12% where 25% of the patients in the placebo had migraines. In the ELEVATE trial, 15% of participants experienced migraines while using atogepant while 26% reported while on a placebo. In the PROGRESS trial, only 51% of those who took atogepant had migraine compared to 61% of the patients who took a placebo.
Researchers found that atogepant reduced the likelihood of a migraine by: 61% in the ADVANCE trial, 47% in the ELEVATE trial, and 37% in the PROGRESS trial.
Regarding quality-of-life, subjects on atogepant appeared to have enhanced functioning in their day-to-day life. Migraines are recognized as the second most debilitating condition in the world especially among young women. Migraine headaches affect interpersonal relationships, especially with mothers with children and working professionals. Atogepant is uniquely able to act quickly and fill a major need when compared with other migraine treatments.
However, the study has demographic hindrances in terms of the selection of subjects. As most of the participants were white and female this study may not represent a complete part of the general population with migraines. More studies are still to be considered to show the drug’s effectiveness in diverse populations.
Atogepant will be a new option for the prevention of migraine because it has been proven to be effective in providing comfort and diminishing migraine frequency. Therefore, the ability to modify the quality of life of people suffering from migraine is a remarkable leap in migraine treatment.
Even though further study is needed to validate the effectiveness of the drug for various groups of patients, atogepant’s immediate action helps to be a useful approach for patients looking for quicker migraine treatment methods. Millions of people throughout the world will benefit from this novel advancement by having the chance to better their circumstances and discover a way of life free from severe suffering.
References: American Academy of Neurology. New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away. Published December 23, 2024. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5221
