American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting (AHS)

Recent data presented at the AHS annual meeting showed clinically meaningful improvements in MMD and MHD in patients with both chronic and episodic migraine.

A post-hoc analysis of 4 clinical trials of galcanezumab found no differences between dose groups of galcanezumab or placebo in rates of ‘wearing off’ effect.

The director of the Headache Center of Southern California provided insight on how a layered treatment approach to chronic migraine can be directly implemented into clinical care.

The director of the Montefiore Headache Center detailed the ways the Migraine Buddy app can help simplify conducting migraine clinical trials while expanding the reach of patients.

Absence of photophobia, phonophobia, and nausea were achieved in a similar percentage of perimenstrual and non-perimenstrual ubrogepant-treated attacks.

These real-world findings confirm that a 156- to 195-unit dose of onabotulinumtoxinA is efficacious and safe, consistent with findings from the PREEMPT clinical trials.

The program director of the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Headache Medicine Fellowship program discussed the findings of the STOP 301 study.

Using the FDA-approved Cefaly device, the TEAM study data suggest that the device can be applied as a safe alternative to pharmacological treatments in the acute treatment of migraine.

The chief medical officer of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals discussed the findings of an assessment of rimegepant (Nurtec ODT) exposure with concomitant administration of inhibitors of P-gp and BCRP transporters.

An assessment of data from the PROMISE-2 trial suggests that individuals who respond to treatment in the first month are likely to maintain their response through at least 6 months.

The director of the Headache Center of Southern California discussed his research from AHS 2021 which evaluated safety and efficacy of combined treatment with CGRPs and onabotulimtoxinA.

Open-label data of concomitant use of CGRP monoclonal antibodies and receptor antagonists suggest that the agents can be safely and effectively combined in the treatment of migraine.

The reported reasons included wanting to take care of symptoms themselves, concern that migraine will not be taken seriously, and believing migraines are not severe or painful enough to seek care.

Treatment with eptinezumab resulted in reduced burdensome features of headache episodes including severe pain, photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and limited physical activity.

Respondents reported varying levels of comfort regarding the management of migraine during pregnancy, with only half of women’s healthcare providers indicating they conducted counseling on migraine during pregnancy.

Investigators’ analysis of a subset of patients with insufficient response from the CENTURION study suggests that the acute agent from Eli Lilly offers potential in this population.

Treatment with INP104 was associated with high rates of symptoms freedom and may be a promising new acute treatment for patients with migraine.

Experts were in agreement that the criteria should include PTH phenotype, TBI mechanism and TBI comorbidities.

The nasal delivery of dihydroergotamine also showed a lower incidence of nausea than IV-administrated dihydroergotamine.

Rimegepant (Nurtec ODT; Biohaven) had the lowest number needed to treat for sustained pain freedom from migraine.

With the AHS 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting set to kick-off virtually on June 3, 2021, Jessica Ailani, MD, FAHS, offered her perspective on what to expect from the presentations and sessions.

The director of the Neurology Residency Program at Weill Cornell Medicine highlighted some of the differences in types of headaches that patients with COVID-19 experience, as well as overall takeaways from the pandemic itself.

The internal medicine resident physician at Montefiore Health System provided an overview of the study he and colleagues conducted on patients using onabotulinumtoxinA and CGRP agents in tandem.

Despite its ranking as a "most bothersome symptom" among migraineurs, eye pain and photophobia often go ignored or under-treated in the headache clinic.

The head of Neurology Medical at Lundbeck Seattle Biopharmaceuticals offers perspective on the findings and what impact eptinezumab may have on migraine care.

Treatment with galcanezumab (Emgality; Eli Lilly) was associated with improvements in total pain burden for patients with both chronic and episodic migraine compared to placebo groups.

The director of the Neurology Residency Program at Weill Cornell Medicine provided insight on the experience residents have had during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has shaped them for the future.

The neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, detailed the importance of further studies of FDA approved medications in different patient populations.

The FDA accepted an NDA for Zosano’s ADAM zolmitriptan (Qytripta) in the acute treatment of migraine in early March, with a PDUFA date set for mid-October 2020.

The neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, discussed the growing variety of treatment options and the progress the migraine community has made on the management of this disease.