Drugs like Ozempic, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, may also treat migraines, even if the drug does not cause weight loss.
A preliminary report published in the Journal Headache and published at the European Society for Neurology (EAN) conference on June 21 suggests that liraglutide, a drug used to treat obesity and diabetes, has almost half the number of days patients have experienced severe migraine. Liraglatide belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists. This also includes Semaglutide, the active ingredient in diabetic drugs Ozempic and weight loss drugs.
However, the idea of treating migraines with these drugs is “very innovative and progressive”, but new results should be acquired with caution. This is because the trials were small and no comparison groups were included. Dr. Alex Sinclair, a neurologist at the University of Birmingham in the UK, spoke to Live Science because he was not involved in the research.
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“This is an absolutely appetizing research study, as it offers truly interesting ideas for new mechanisms to deliver drugs to migraines,” Sinclair told Live Science. “But it’s very preliminary.”
This “very important and exciting finding” could offer “another treatment option for patients with chronic migraine, especially those who have not previously responded to other currently available treatments,” said Dr. Chiachanchian, an associate professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, who was not involved in the study.
Migraine day cut in half
To assess the effect of liraglutide on migraines, Dr. Simone Braca, a neurologist at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, and her colleagues, followed 1.2 mg daily for a week in 31 patients with obesity and high frequency or chronic migraine.
After 12 weeks, almost half of patients reported that their monthly headache days had decreased from an average of 20 to nine. This was a “huge” effect, Braca told Live Science.
Seven people had a 75% reduction in headache days, and one patient’s migraine was completely gone. Overall, patients also reported a significant reduction in migraine disrupting daily life. Importantly, participants did not lose weight during the study. This suggests that improvement in migraine was not associated with weight loss. This is a notable observation as obesity is known to increase the risk of severe headaches.
Related: Do weight loss pills help you drink less alcohol?
BRACA highlighted that these patients were selected because they did not respond to other migraine drugs, such as antibodies targeting calcitonin gene-associated peptides (CGRP), a molecule released into the brain during migraine.
The study authors have several theories about what is happening, but did not collect measurements that could prove the mechanism of action. The GLP-1 drug can reduce pressure within the skull by lowering the production of cerebrospinal fluid, and can soak the brain and spinal cord, researchers suggested. This can reduce the release of CGRP, which many scientists believe will promote migraine pain.
In support of that hypothesis, Braca’s team pointed to previous research led by Sinclair and published in the Journal Brain in 2023. It suggested that exenatide, another GLP-1 drug, lowers cerebral pressure. Of note, this drug appeared to reduce migraine days among study participants, but could not show strong statistical differences.
Another possible mechanism supporting the effectiveness of the new study findings is that liraglutide directly reduced the release of CGRP or that the drug regulated glucose metabolism, Chiang said. Previous studies suggest that migraines may be associated with problems with glucose metabolism.
But new research has important limitations, Sinclair said. First, the study was very small, with only 31 participants, lasting only 12 weeks. Another important limitation was that the study did not include a placebo group. The placebo effect of sham treatments improving people’s symptoms is particularly strong with regard to self-reported pain.
“We have a major placebo response to headache research,” Sinclair told Live Science.
Braca agreed that there are restrictions on the trial. Still, “both the history of multiple previous treatment disorders and the magnitude of observed responses reduces the likelihood of significant placebo effects,” Braca said.
Results should be confirmed in a larger placebo-controlled clinical trial before leading to treatment in migraine patients. However, if confirmed, the findings could open a new line of research for migraine treatment, Braca said.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
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