scholarly journals Low-Dose Naltrexone/Acetaminophen Combination in the Preventive Treatment of Migraine: Findings of a Small, Randomized, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial with an Open-Label Extension for None-Responders

Author(s):  
Annette Channa Toledano

We tested low-dose naltrexone/acetaminophen combination for episodic migraine prevention. We randomly assigned patients to naltrexone/acetaminophen (n=6) or placebo (n=6) for a 12-week double-blind treatment. Non-responders continued into open-label treatment with naltrexone/acetaminophen (n=5) for additional 12 weeks. Patients were adults who experienced 5 to 17 (average 9.7) migraine days at baseline. The primary endpoint was the mean change in the monthly migraine days during the last 4 weeks of the double-blind treatment period. The key secondary endpoint was the mean change in the monthly migraine days from the 4–week double–blind follow–up (2nd baseline) to the last 4 weeks of the open–label treatment period. The magnitude of the treatment effect for naltrexone/acetaminophen observed in the double–blind period was 2.2 fewer monthly migraine days than placebo (p=0.43). Four out of 6 (66.7%) naltrexone/acetaminophen-treated patients experienced 75% reduction in migraine days compared to 1 out of 6 (16.7%) placebo-treated patients (p=0.09). In the open-label phase, treatment with naltrexone/acetaminophen (n=5) led to 8.2 fewer mean monthly migraine days (from 11.8 to 3.6), representing 69.5% improvement (p=0.03), and 100% of the patients experienced a 50% reduction in monthly migraine days. Adverse events were mild/moderate and transient, included dry mouth, fatigue, sedation, nausea, and feeling jittery. We postulate that naltrexone′s toll-like receptor (TLR4) antagonism properties prevent pro-inflammatory cytokines′ production in the trigeminal ganglion averting ″overactive nerves″ and migraine. Although this trial used low-dose naltrexone (defined as 1 – 5 mg/day), we postulate mid-dose naltrexone (MDN) (defined as 6 – 10 mg/day) may offer a greater migraine prevention control.

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (12) ◽  
pp. 1237-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Messoud Ashina ◽  
David Dodick ◽  
Peter J. Goadsby ◽  
Uwe Reuter ◽  
Stephen Silberstein ◽  
...  

Objective:To assess long-term safety and efficacy of anti–calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor erenumab in patients with episodic migraine (EM).Methods:Patients enrolled in a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT01952574) who continued in an open-label extension (OLE) study will receive erenumab 70 mg every 4 weeks for up to 5 years. This preplanned interim analysis, conducted after all participants had completed the 1-year open-label follow-up, evaluated changes in monthly migraine days (MMD), achievement of ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% reductions, Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) score, Migraine-Specific Quality of Life (MSQ), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), and safety. Data reported as observed without imputation for missing data.Results:Of 472 patients enrolled in the parent study, 383 continued in the OLE with a median exposure to erenumab of 575 days (range 28–822 days). Mean (SD) MMD were 8.8 (2.6) at parent study baseline, 6.3 (4.2) at week 12 (beginning of OLE), and 3.7 (4.0) at week 64 (mean change from baseline [reduction] of 5.0 days). At week 64, 65%, 42%, and 26% achieved ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% reduction in MMD, respectively. Mean HIT-6 scores were 60.2 (6.3) at baseline and 51.7 (9.2) at week 64. MSQ and MIDAS improvements from baseline were maintained through week 64. Safety profiles during the OLE were similar to those in the double-blind phase, which overall were similar to placebo.Conclusions:One-year efficacy, supported by functional improvements and favorable safety and tolerability profiles, supports further investigation of erenumab as a preventive treatment in patients with EM.Clinicaltrials.gov identifier:NCT01952574.Classification of evidence:This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with episodic migraine, erenumab reduces long-term MMD and improves headache-related disability and migraine-specific quality of life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (e7) ◽  
pp. A31.1-A31
Author(s):  
Lauren Giles ◽  
Uwe Reuter ◽  
Peter Goadsby ◽  
Michel Lanteri-Minet ◽  
Peggy Hours-Zesiger ◽  
...  

IntroductionTo assess efficacy of erenumab in the first three months of the open-label extension phase (OLEP; 13–24 weeks) of the LIBERTY study.MethodsIn the double-blind treatment phase (DBTP), 246 patients were randomized to placebo and erenumab 140 mg for 12 weeks, following which, patients completing that phase (N=240) were enrolled in OLEP, to receive monthly erenumab 140 mg. Outcomes measured monthly throughout to week 24 were achievement of at least 50%/75%/100% reduction in monthly migraine days (MMD), change from DBTP baseline in MMD, monthly acute migraine-specific medication days (MSMD), Headache Impact Test (HIT-6TM) total score, everyday activities (EA) and physical impairment (PI) as measured by the Migraine Physical Function Impact Diary (MPFID).ResultsOverall, 228/240(95.0%) patients completed the 24 week visit of the OLEP. In the overall population at Week 24, 39.2%, 15.9% and 7.0% patients achieved ≥50%/≥75%/100% reduction in MMD. The mean (standard deviation) change from DBTP baseline in MMD was −2.7(4.4) and −1.4(3.0) in MSMD; and −7.6(8.0), −2.5(9.2) and −4.0(9.0) in HIT-6TM, MPFID-PI and MPFID-EA scores respectively. Patients with continuous use of erenumab showed sustained efficacy in all outcomes assessed. Patients who switched from placebo to erenumab in the OLEP showed improvement from the first measurement at Week 16 on all outcomes assessed.ConclusionsEfficacy of erenumab was sustained throughout 24 weeks in a hard to treat patient population with multiple prior preventive treatment failures. Overall, efficacy data over 24 weeks (assessed over weeks 13–16,17–20 and 21–24) was generally in line with prior erenumab trials.


2021 ◽  
pp. jnnp-2021-327480
Author(s):  
Michel Dominique Ferrari ◽  
Uwe Reuter ◽  
Peter J Goadsby ◽  
Gabriel Paiva da Silva Lima ◽  
Subhayan Mondal ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo evaluate individual and group long-term efficacy and safety of erenumab in individuals with episodic migraine (EM) for whom 2–4 prior preventatives had failed.MethodsParticipants completing the 12-week double-blind treatment phase (DBTP) of the LIBERTY study could continue into an open-label extension phase (OLEP) receiving erenumab 140 mg monthly for up to 3 years. Main outcomes assessed at week 112 were: ≥50%, ≥75% and 100% reduction in monthly migraine days (MMD) as group responder rate and individual responder rates, MMD change from baseline, safety and tolerability.ResultsOverall 240/246 (97.6%) entered the OLEP (118 continuing erenumab, 122 switching from placebo). In total 181/240 (75.4%) reached 112 weeks, 24.6% discontinued, mainly due to lack of efficacy (44.0%), participant decision (37.0%) and adverse events (AEs; 12.0%). The ≥50% responder rate was 57.2% (99/173) at 112 weeks. Of ≥50% responders at the end of the DBTP, 36/52 (69.2%) remained responders at ≥50% and 22/52 (42.3%) at >80% of visits. Of the non-responders at the end of the DBTP, 60/185 (32.4%) converted to ≥50% responders in at least half the visits and 24/185 (13.0%) converted to ≥50% responders in >80% of visits. Change from baseline at 112 weeks in mean (SD) MMD was −4.2 (5.0) days. Common AEs (≥10%) were nasopharyngitis, influenza and back pain.ConclusionsEfficacy was sustained over 112 weeks in individuals with difficult-to-treat EM for whom 2–4 prior migraine preventives had failed. Erenumab treatment was safe and well tolerated, in-line with previous studies.Trial registration numberNCT03096834


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 01-09
Author(s):  
Rémi Shrivastava

BACKGROUND The efficacy and safety of Mig-RL (Commercial name HERBA MIG), a synergistic association of two plant extracts, Tanacetum parthenium (150mg, 0.5% parthenolide) and Salix Alba (150mg, 25% salicin) were investigated as a preventive treatment for episodic migraine. Mig-RL was compared with a placebo in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS This trial included 129 patients having episodic migraine and diagnosed with migraines without aura for over a year and meeting the migraine criteria, as defined in the International Classification of Headache Disorder (ICHD-3 :1.1). P). Baseline data was collected for 28 days before the start of the three-months treatment period. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either Mig-RL (a single dose of 300mg per day, per os) or placebo (identical capsules containing 300 mg starch, 1 per day, per os) for a period of 12 consecutive weeks. The primary endpoint was the mean change in the average number of migraine days per month, comparing the baseline 28-days pre-intervention period with the weeks 9 to 12 after the first dose of the trial regimen. Secondary endpoints were the percentage of patients with a reduction of at least 30% in the average number of migraine days per month and days of use of any acute headache medication per month. The HIT-6 and MIDAS scores were also evaluated vs. baseline between the two groups. RESULTS Out of 172 patients enrolled, 129 were randomly assigned to the Mig-RL arm (n=65) or the placebo arm (n=64). The mean (±SD) number of baseline migraine days per month was 8.4±1.9 and 8.7±1.9, respectively. The mean reduction in the average number of migraine days per month was 2.5±0.4 (p<0.001) with Mig-RL and 1.9±0.4 (p<0.001) with placebo. A difference of 0.6±0.4 (p=0.01) between the two groups. The percentage of patients with at least 30% reduction in average number of migraine days per month was 49% in Mig-RL and 32% in placebo (p<0.05 vs. placebo). Only a few isolated and minor side effects were reported and overall Mig-RL was well tolerated by patients. CONCLUSIONS Mig-RL, a synergistic combination of two plant extracts, seems to have a moderate effect in the prevention of migraines. Without side effects, the combination of Tanacetum parthenium and Salix alba could be an additional help for some patients. However, further investigations and an improvement in the quality of the plants are still necessary.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette C. Toledano

ABSTRACTWe tested two low-dose naltrexone and acetaminophen combinations and each component in the acute treatment of migraine. The patients use a single-dose of the study medication for a moderate or severe pain intensity migraine attack. Patients were adults with migraine with or without aura experiencing 2 to 20 (average 6.4) monthly migraine days. The co-primary endpoints were pain-freedom and absence of prospectively-identified most bothersome migraine-associated symptom 2 hours after dosing. We randomized 92 patients; 72 completed the study (mean age, 43 years; 75% women). Pain-freedom at 2 hours was 10.2% higher than placebo with naltrexone 2.25 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg, 10.9% with naltrexone 3.25 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg, 17.3% with naltrexone 2.25 mg, and 31.3% with acetaminophen 325 mg. The treatment groups’ migraine burden at baseline was unbalanced due to randomized patients’ uneven study completion. The acetaminophen group had the lowest migraine burden, giving its results lower credibility.Saliently, Low-dose naltrexone alone (n=19) had a 17.3% higher response rate for headache pain-freedom at 2 hours than placebo (n=17). The naltrexone and the placebo groups were the largest and had a balanced disease burden, implying higher credibility to the naltrexone group results. We found low-dose naltrexone and acetaminophen combination, low-dose naltrexone, and acetaminophen had higher response rates than placebo in treating headache pain. The most commonly reported adverse events were sedation, nausea, and dizziness. We postulate that naltrexone’s toll-like receptor (TLR4) antagonism properties prevent pro-inflammatory cytokines’ production in the trigeminal ganglion averting “overactive nerves” (layman’s term) and migraine. Although this trial used low-dose naltrexone (defined as 1 – 5 mg/day), future phase 3 studies will test a range of naltrexone and acetaminophen combination doses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Miao ◽  
Xian Xiao ◽  
Jiayi Tian ◽  
Yunzhi Zhufeng ◽  
Ruiling Feng ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To investigate the regulation of T follicular regulatory (Tfr) and T follicular (Tfh) cell subtypes by low-dose IL-2 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Methods A post hoc analysis was performed in a randomized cohort of SLE patients (n=60) receiving low-dose IL-2 therapy (n=30) or placebo (n=30), along with the standard of care treatment. The primary endpoint was the attainment of SLE responder index-4 (SRI-4) at week 12 in the trial. Twenty-three healthy controls were enrolled for T cell subset detection at the same time as the trial. The t-stochastic neighbor embedding (tSNE) analysis of CD4 T subsets based on immune cells flow cytometry markers was performed to distinguish Tfh, Tfh1, Tfh2, Tfh17, and Tfr cell subsets. Results Compared with HC, the frequency of Tfr (CXCR5+PD-1low Treg and CXCR5+PD-1high Treg) cells was significantly reduced, while the pro-inflammatory Tfh cells were increased in patients with SLE. The imbalanced Tfh cell was associated with several pathogenic factors (anti-dsDNA antibodies (r=0.309, P=0.027) and serum IL-17 (r=0.328, P=0.021)) and SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score (r=0.273, P=0.052). Decreased CXCR5+PD-1low Treg/Tfh and CXCR5+PD-1low Treg/Tfh17 were both associated with increased immunoglobulin M (IgM) (r=−0.448, P=0.002 and r=−0.336, P=0.024, respectively). Efficacy of low-dose IL-2 therapy was associated with a restored Tfr/Tfh cell balance. Conclusion These data support the hypothesis that promotion of Tfr is associated with decreased disease activities and that low-dose IL-2 therapy can recover Tfr/Tfh immune balance. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov Registries (NCT02465580).


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Messoud Ashina ◽  
Joshua M. Cohen ◽  
Maja Galic ◽  
Verena Ramirez Campos ◽  
Steve Barash ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fremanezumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG2Δa) selectively targets the calcitonin gene-related peptide and has proven efficacy for the preventive treatment of migraine. In this study, we evaluated the long-term efficacy, safety, and tolerability of monthly and quarterly fremanezumab. Methods Episodic migraine and chronic migraine patients completing the 12-week double-blind period of the FOCUS trial entered the 12-week open-label extension and received 3 monthly doses of fremanezumab (225 mg). Changes from baseline in monthly migraine days, monthly headache days of at least moderate severity, days of acute headache medication use, days with photophobia/phonophobia, days with nausea or vomiting, disability scores, and proportion of patients achieving a ≥50% or  ≥75% reduction in monthly migraine days were evaluated. Results Of the 807 patients who completed the 12-week double-blind treatment period and entered the open-label extension, 772 patients completed the study. In the placebo, quarterly fremanezumab, and monthly fremanezumab dosing regimens, respectively, patients had fewer average monthly migraine days (mean [standard deviation] change from baseline: − 4.7 [5.4]; − 5.1 [4.7]; − 5.5 [5.0]), monthly headache days of at least moderate severity (− 4.5 [5.0]; − 4.8 [4.5]; − 5.2 [4.9]), days per month of acute headache medication use (− 4.3 [5.2]; − 4.9 [4.6]; − 4.8 [4.9]), days with photophobia/phonophobia (− 3.1 [5.3]; − 3.4 [5.3]; − 4.0 [5.2]), and days with nausea or vomiting (− 2.3 [4.6]; − 3.1 [4.5]; − 3.0 [4.4]). During the 12-week open-label extension, 38%, 45%, and 46% of patients, respectively, achieved a ≥50% reduction and 16%, 15%, and 20%, respectively, achieved a ≥75% reduction in monthly migraine days. Disability scores were substantially improved in all 3 treatment groups. There were low rates of adverse events leading to discontinuation (<1%). Conclusion Fremanezumab demonstrated sustained efficacy up to 6 months and was well tolerated in patients with episodic migraine or chronic migraine and documented inadequate response to multiple migraine preventive medication classes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03308968 (FOCUS).


Cephalalgia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 033310242110474
Author(s):  
Debashish Chowdhury ◽  
Luv Bansal ◽  
Ashish Duggal ◽  
Debabrata Datta ◽  
Ankit Mundra ◽  
...  

Objective The aim of the TOP-PRO-study, a double-blind randomized controlled trial, was to assess the efficacy (non-inferiority) and tolerability of propranolol compared to topiramate for the prevention of chronic migraine. Background Except for topiramate, oral preventive treatment for chronic migraine lacks credible evidence. Methods Chronic migraine patients aged above 18 years and less than 65 years of age, not on any preventive treatment were randomly allocated to receive topiramate (100 mg/day) or propranolol (160 mg/day). The primary efficacy outcome was the mean change in migraine days per 28 days at the end of 24 weeks from baseline. A mean difference of 1.5 days per four weeks was chosen as the cut-off delta value. Multiple secondary efficacy outcomes and treatment emergent adverse events were also assessed. Results As against the planned sample size of 244, only 175 patients could be enrolled before the spread of the corona virus disease-2019 pandemic and enforcement of lockdown in India. Of the 175 randomized patients, 95 (topiramate 46 and propranolol 49) completed the trial. The mean change in migraine days was −5.3 ± 1.2 vs −7.3 ± 1.1 days (p = 0.226) for topiramate and propranolol groups respectively. Propranolol was found to be non-inferior and not superior to topiramate (point estimate of −1.99 with a 95% confidence interval of −5.23 to 1.25 days). Multiple secondary outcomes also did not differ between the two groups. Intention to treat analysis of 175 patients and per-protocol analysis of 95 patients yielded concordant results. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups. Conclusion Propranolol (160mg/day) was non-inferior, non-superior to topiramate (100mg/day) for the preventive treatment of chronic migraine and had a comparable tolerability profile. Trial Registration: Clinical Trials Registry-India CTRI/2019/05/018997)


1990 ◽  
Vol 183 (5) ◽  
pp. 1654-1655
Author(s):  
V. Vijayasekaran ◽  
E.A. Ottesen ◽  
V. Kumaraswami ◽  
S.V. Perumal ◽  
A. Geethalakshmi ◽  
...  

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