Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist approved to treat both obesity and type 2 diabetes, has shown effectiveness as a potential medicine for chronic migraine, according to a study presented at the European Academy of Neurology Congress on 21 June. Researchers at the University of Naples Federico II reported that liraglutide, administered to 26 adults with obesity and migraine, was able to significantly reduce episodes of migraine headache over a period of 12 weeks. At the same time, participants only registered slight decreases in body mass index (BMI). This suggests that the impact of liraglutide on migraine is independent from that on obesity. The researchers noted that there is growing evidence linking migraines with subtle increases in intracranial pressure from the secretion of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The GLP-1 receptor agonists appear to reduce this secretion.
In a statement, Simone Braca, lead researcher for the project, said that by modulating cerebrospinal fluid pressure and reducing intracranial venous sinuses compression, the GLP-1 drugs reduce the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide, a key migraine-promoting peptide. This points to a new, pharmacologically targetable pathway for treating the disease.
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