Lasmiditan a new type of drug for acute treatment of migraine, provided prompt relief of pain and other bothersome symptoms as soon as an hour after administration, researchers reported here. About 20% of patients treated with the highest dose of lasmiditan in one of two phase III trials reported being free of headache pain at 1 hour post-treatment, rising to nearly 40% at 2 hours. This drug does not have any cardiovascular complications as seen with ergotamine or triptans. The results were presented at the American Headache Society annual meeting.
Lasmiditan could potentially represent the first major innovation for the treatment of acute migraine in two decades. The drug is a serotonin agonist selective for the 5-HT1F receptor. Triptans activate that receptor, but they are also active at other 5-HT receptor subtypes that are believed to be responsible for these agents' unwanted…
