Advances in migraine prevention

Abstract

Migraine imposes a heavy burden on patients and societies. Preventive treatments aimed at reducing the occurrence of migraine attacks and their intensity have been largely underused, leaving a multitude of people with migraine to rely exclusively on acute treatments, which, when used in excess, might even worsen the clinical situation. Large, randomised trials have established the tolerability and efficacy of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-targeting drugs, a new class of migraine-specific treatment. The increased adherence to longer treatment cycles with migraine-specific preventive drugs, such as CGRP-targeting therapies, compared with non-migraine specific treatments has the potential to improve control of the disease. These migraine-specific drugs also provide benefits to individuals with migraine who previously did not benefit from non-specific migraine preventive medications. Increased reliance on preventive treatment with migraine-specific options is progressively optimising the management of migraine for mounting numbers of patients disabled by the disease, thereby improving disease control and their quality of life.