American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting (AHS)

The professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology at UT Southwestern discussed the need to better coordinate care between providers when telemedicine is being utilized in headache and migraine care.

The director of the Headache Center of Southern California shared insight into the success of ubrogepant in patients who failed on triptans, and how the future of migraine treatment may need to focus on combination approaches.

The director of the MedStar Georgetown Headache Center spoke about the higher-than-desired rates of opioid prescriptions for patients with migraine, and how new treatment options and provider education can help lower those numbers.

At the recent American Headache Society meeting, researchers detailed the manifold risks of opioid use in patients with migraine.

The director of the Orange County Migraine and Headache Center spoke about the adherence issues in acute migraine treatment and how the safety profile of investigational medications such as rimegepant and ubrogepant suggests they may be able to address them.

Lead author Elizabeth K. Seng, PhD, shared insight into the findings of an exploration of the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to reduce the impact of migraine on patients, as measured by Migraine Disability Assessment, as well as Headache Disability Inventory scores.

The latest advances in diagnosis and treatment are discussed in meeting presentations and recent studies and reviews.

Investigators found that participants struggled to adhere to the treatment protocol, which required them to administer 3 treatments per day.

The director of headache medicine and chief of general neurology at Yale Medicine spoke about the significance of having CGRP inhibitors in migraine treatment, and how eptinezumab fits into the treatment landscape.

No differences were observed in the magnitude of ubrogepant treatment effect between defined triptan subgroups.

The clinical professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine spoke about the trends revealed by the OVERCOME study, and how this data can be used to improve the management of the millions of patients with migraine in the US.

The director of the Montefiore Headache Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine spoke about the results of an analysis of eptinezumab’s effect on the severity of migraine and its impact on patients’ lives.

Atogepant significantly reduced mean monthly migraine days compared to placebo across a number of doses and was generally well-tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events.

Real-world data of erenumab indicates that a large number of patients are the chronic migraine population, and there is a high rate of persistence to the anti-CGRP therapy. The most commonly prescribed dose of erenumab was 70 mg.

Patients with migraine who reported both moderate and severe pain intensity during headache attacks experienced high rates of relief and freedom from pain and their most bothersome symptom when treated with 3-mg sumatriptan injection, DFN-11.

An analysis of the open-label PREVAIL trial demonstrated a magnitude of therapeutic effect for eptinezumab that was either maintained or improved with subsequent infusions.

MAST study results, remote electrical neuromodulation for acute treatment, and noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation are featured topics.

The professor of neurology, neurotherapeutics, and ophthalmology at UT Southwestern spoke about the potential of telemedicine in headache medicine, as well as the findings from a single-center, 45-patient study.

Because opioids have been shown to increase disability and reduce quality of life in patients with migraine, the search is on for effective alternative treatments.

Despite ongoing discussion regarding the 6-item Headache Impact Test’s relevance in the migraine population—for which it was not specifically developed—the test has been shown to be a useful tool in the assessment of patients with migraine.

Nearly one-third of persons with four or more migraine headache days per month have not received a diagnosis.

The director of the MedStar Georgetown Headache Center spoke about ubrogepant’s long-term safety and efficacy and its potential to fill the large gap that remains in acute migraine care.

Patients with migraine rated their telemedicine visits as more convenient with shorter visit times; two factors that can also benefit providers.

Survey data revealed 36% of patients with migraine with prescription medications were using opioids in acute management, though data also reinforced that receiving a diagnosis of migraine or chronic migraine was associated with a significantly decreased likelihood of opioid use.

A promising alternative for patients who do not respond well to triptans or who wish to avoid pharmacotherapy.

Novel options for both acute and preventive therapy were presented at the American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting.

As measured with the Migraine Disability Assessment, the proportion of patients with episodic migraine experiencing severe disability was reduced significantly, and Headache Disability Inventory scores were significantly reduced.

Stephen D. Silberstein, MD, past AHS president and Editor in Chief of NeurologyLive, provides a preview of premier sessions that will take place at the upcoming annual meeting.

Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) is the first FDA-approved drug that reduces the frequency of headache attacks.

Take this brief quiz to test your knowledge of recent recommendations from the American Headache Society for the prevention and acute management of migraine.