Migraine sufferers taking weight loss and diabetes medication are less likely to need emergency care or medication, a study has suggested.
GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are prescribed to patients with diabetes and also as a weight-loss drug. It works by mimicking the natural hormone which regulates blood sugar, appetite and digestion. But research suggests the drugs may also reduce heart attacks and protect the brain from cognitive decline.
Now a preliminary study implies the so-called miracle drugs taken by more than 1.6 million Britons for weight loss could also help reduce the need for migraine medication.
Study author Dr Vitoria Acar, at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, said: “People with chronic migraine often end up in the emergency room or they need to try several preventive medications before finding one that can work for them.
“Seeing these patterns of lower use of emergency care and lower use of drugs to stop migraines or trying additional drugs to prevent migraines among people taking GLP-1 drugs for other conditions suggests that these therapies may help stabilise the disease burden in ways that we haven’t fully appreciated yet.”
The study, set to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in April in Chicago, only shows an association and does not prove the drugs lower the need for emergency care for people with migraine.
Using medical records, researchers compared 11,000 people with chronic migraines who were starting GLP-1 drugs to 11,000 people with chronic migraines who were starting topiramate, a drug commonly used to prevent migraines.
Researchers tracked what happened to both groups over the following year. This included overall emergency department visits, hospitalisations, nerve block procedures, and any new prescriptions for medications used to stop or prevent migraine attacks.
After accounting for differences in age, body weight, other health conditions, and prior migraine treatments, researchers found people who started GLP-1 drugs were approximately 10 per cent less likely than those who started topiramate to visit the emergency department over the following year.
Migraine sufferers taking GLP-1 drugs were also about 14 per cent likely to be hospitalised for any reason during the year and almost 50 per cent less likely to be prescribed new preventive migraine medications.
“Chronic migraine often overlaps with metabolic and inflammatory conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, sleep apnea and depression, which can make treatment more difficult,” Dr Acar said. “Early research is looking at whether GLP-1 drugs’ anti-inflammatory and neurovascular effects could play a role in migraine treatment, not just through weight loss.”
