Efficacy and Safety of Rizatriptan Versus Standard Care During Long-term Treatment for Migraine

• Published in: Headache Vol. 38; no. 10; pp. 764 - 771
• Main Authors: Block, Gilbert A., Goldstein, Jerome, Polis, Adam, Reines, Scott A., Smith, Mary E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: USA/Oxford, UK American Association for the Study of Headache/Blackwell Science Ltd 01-11-1998; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: 5-HT1D receptor agonist; Biological and medical sciences; Medical sciences; migraine; MK-462; Neuropharmacology; Neurotransmitters. Neurotransmission. Receptors; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; rizatriptan; Serotoninergic system; Human; Nervous system diseases; Agonist; Acute; Antimigrainous agent; Multicenter study; Migraine; Cardiovascular disease; 5-HT1 Serotonine receptor; Long term; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; Chemotherapy; Randomization; Pain; Treatment; Central nervous system disease; Adult; Rizatriptan; Application method; Dose; Cerebrovascular disease; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0017-8748; 1526-4610
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1526-4610.1998.3810764.x

Rizatriptan is a novel, selective 5‐HT1B/1D receptor agonist with a rapid onset of action after oral dosing for the acute treatment of migraine. We conducted a long‐term (up to 1 year), multicenter, randomized study in 1831 patients treating more than 46 000 attacks to compare the efficacy and tolerability of rizatriptan 5 mg and 10 mg to standard care medications routinely used for the acute treatment of migraine attacks. Both doses of rizatriptan were highly effective, without evidence of tachyphylaxis. Rizatriptan 10 mg was consistently superior (P<0.05), both to the 5‐mg dose and to standard care, in providing relief in 90% of attacks, with 50% pain‐free by 2 hours after dosing. The most common dose‐related adverse events were nausea, somnolence, and asthenia/fatigue. Based on this large, multicenter, long‐term trial, rizatriptan is an important new oral agent for the acute treatment of migraine.