Popular weight loss drugs can also help treat migraines

Popular diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro show potential to treat a slew up other health problems, from osteoarthritis to food frenzy. Now, new research suggests that these drugs – which belong to a class known as GLP -1 – can also help relieve migraines.

Specifically, People with obesity and chronic migraine have experienced much less headache After a passage of three months taking Liraglutide, a GLP-1 currently used to treat type 2 diabetes, the researchers reported on June 17 in the journal Headache.

Migraine affects approximately 14% of the world’s population, making it a disability cause in the world. The new study was small, with only 31 people, and Experts warn that more research is needed. However, the results refer to a promising a new path for the relief of migraine.

“Despite many progress in the treatment of migraines in recent years, many patients are still suffering from intractable migraines who can benefit from emerging treatment,” said Samantha Flanagan, DO, an obesity medical doctor suffering from the health of the temple.

To understand how GLP-1 has an impact on migraine, the researchers recruited 26 women and five men with obesity (a body mass index over 30) and chronic migraine (headaches over at least 15 days a month).

Participants took a daily shot containing 1.2 milligrams of Liraglutide over 12 weeks. Each day, they filled a newspaper detailing the intensity and frequency of their migraine symptoms. About 38% of participants experienced light gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and constipation.

At the end of the study, Participants experienced an average of 11 days of headache on average per month. Most patients have noticed improvements in the first two weeks. Participants also recorded Substantial quality of life boxes Via a tool called the migraine disability assessment test.

These Improvements have occurred despite the change in the Group BRI– On average, it went from 34.0 to 33.9. For this reason, researchers have concluded that GLP-1 can effectively reduce migraine symptoms, even in the absence of significant weight loss.

Despite the promising results, the study had several limits. First, it was observational and lacked a control group, which makes it very difficult if the migraine improvements were directly caused by the Liraglutide or influenced by other factors, Richard Baron, MD, neurologist of Stanford Medicine, said Health.

There was also no blindness – participants and researchers knew they were taking the medication, which could introduce biases.

That said, The study, although small, opens the door to future researchSaid Flanagan.

For the future, Baron said that he would like to see randomized trials, double -blind and controlled by placebo – considered to be the reference of scientific tests – focused on the impact of GLP -1 drugs on the frequency and intensity of migraine.

Although it is still too early to find out if GLP-1 can really alleviate the symptoms of migraine, researchers have theories about how they could do it.

One thought is that They can reduce intracranial pressureOr a pressure that is based on the presence of liquids in the skull. Even a slightly high pressure can raise awareness among the trigeminovascular system, a network of neurons in the brain closely involved in migraine. This can trigger the release of compounds causing headaches called peptides linked to calcitonin genes, which lowers the pain threshold for pain and headache.

Previous research supports this theory: GLP-1 reduces the secretion of cerebrospinal fluid and intracranial pressure. In addition, several small studies suggest that GLP-1 can improve migraine symptoms in people with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a condition that causes chronically high intracranial pressure, said Deena E. Kuruvilla, MD, Fahs, neurologist and medical director of the Brain Health Institute. (In particular, the new study excluded people suspected of having this condition.)

According to Baron, another possibility is that GLP-1 can counter the effects of obesity It is believed that this contributes to migraine attacks, such as inflammation and fluctuations of hormones such as leptin and orexin.

“Since GLP -1 agonists seem to reduce inflammation associated with obesity, affect hormonal signaling linked to obesity and decrease intracranial pressure – even before weight loss is obtained – it is very reasonable to expect these drugs to reduce the severity and frequency of migraines in patients with migraine and obesity,” said Baron.

Although there are several migraine treatments available, including oral drugs, injections, lifestyle changes and neuromodlative devices –The condition is notoriously difficult to deal with.

According to American Headache Society, inadequate preventive drugs and unidentified triggers are two of the most common reasons why migraine treatments fail. In addition, many people continue to feel refractory or intractable headache that resist standard treatments.

GLP-1 drugs are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Migraine Prevention, and Treating migraine with them is not yet the norm of careSaid Kuruvilla.

For what Health That she had several patients with refractory headaches “who had exhausted several traditional preventive of migraine without success” take GLP-1 and suffer from significant relief from migraine. “I always point out that improving migraine is a potential secondary advantage, not a guaranteed result,” she said.

Baron, on the other hand, said that it was reasonable to consider GLP-1 for people with migraines and a BMI over 30 years. The drug can improve migraine symptoms and increase their metabolic health to start. “Having more tools to treat the condition is still welcome,” he said.