Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist prescribed to people to treat obesity. In a new clinical trial, the drug was given to 26 obese men and women with chronic migraines. Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported a significant improvement in their quality of life after their migraines decreased, Science Daily reports .
Participants reported an 11-day reduction in migraine symptoms per month. Migraine-related disability scores decreased by 35 points. Since body mass index remained virtually unchanged during the study, the researchers concluded that liraglutide exerted its therapeutic effect through modulation of intracranial pressure.
"The result supports the hypothesis that the benefit is due to the change in pressure, not weight loss," the authors said. They now want to conduct another study to compare the effect of direct and indirect changes in intracranial pressure, and to evaluate other AGLP-1 drugs in patients. The experiments should determine the optimal drug regimens for treating migraine symptoms.
Earlier, in another study, scientists showed that the drug ubrogepant relieves migraine symptoms long before they occur.
