Current and prospective pharmacological targets in relation to antimigraine action

Migraine is a recurrent incapacitating neurovascular disorder characterized by unilateral and throbbing headaches associated with photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and vomiting. Current specific drugs used in the acute treatment of migraine interact with vascular receptors, a fact that has raised concerns about their cardiovascular safety. In the past, α-adrenoceptor agonists (ergotamine, dihydroergotamine, isometheptene) were used. The last two decades have witnessed the advent of 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists (sumatriptan and second-generation triptans), which have a well-established efficacy in the acute treatment of migraine. Moreover, current prophylactic treatments of migraine include 5-HT2 receptor antagonists, Ca2+ channel blockers, and β-adrenoceptor antagonists. Despite the progress in migraine research and in view of its complex etiology, this disease still remains underdiagnosed, and available therapies are underused. In this review, we have discussed pharmacological targets in migraine, with special emphasis on compounds acting on 5-HT (5-HT1-7), adrenergic (α1, α2, and β), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP 1 and CGRP2), adenosine (A1, A2, and A3), glutamate (NMDA, AMPA, kainate, and metabotropic), dopamine, endothelin, and female hormone (estrogen and progesterone) receptors. In addition, we have considered some other targets, including gamma-aminobutyric acid, angiotensin, bradykinin, histamine, and ionotropic receptors, in relation to antimigraine therapy. Finally, the cardiovascular safety of current and prospective antimigraine therapies is touched upon

Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Heide Weishaar and colleagues did an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents together with other data and describe the industry's strategic response to the proposed World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Tolerability profile of zolmitriptan (Zomig™ 311C90), a novel dual central and peripherally acting 5HT1B/1D agonist

Zolmitriptan (Zomig™, formerly 311C90) at doses of 0.5–50 mg was administered to 316 unique volunteers in clinical pharmacology studies and 2,750 unique patients in eight clinical studies of acute migraine treatment. Overall, subjects received almost 50,000 doses; 97% of exposures were at doses &gt;2.5 mg. In the clinical pharmacology studies, the overall incidence of subject exposures experiencing at least one adverse event was 52% with zolmitriptan 2.5 mg (28% with placebo). In placebo-controlled studies, the overall incidence of patients with at least one adverse event was dose-dependent for zolmitriptan over the 1–15 mg dose range, e.g. 42% and 46% with 1 and 2.5 mg, respectively and 58% with 5 mg (29% with placebo). Only four serious adverse events attributable to zolmitriptan were reported. In a long-term study, during which 2,058 outpatients treated a total of 31,579 migraine attacks with either one or two zolmitriptan 5 mg doses over a period of up to 1 year, the number of attacks associated with at least one adverse event was similar after one (26%) and two (24%) doses. The majority (59%) of the adverse events reported in this study (59%) occurred within 2 h of dosing, were predominantly mild (59%) or moderate (35%) in intensity, of ≦4 h duration (58%), required no further action (94%). In placebo-controlled studies, the percentage of patients who reported severe adverse events was similar with zolmitriptan 2.5 mg (4%) and placebo (5%). The most frequently reported adverse events with zolmitriptan in the placebo-controlled clinical studies were asthenia, heaviness (other than chest or neck), dry mouth, nausea, dizziness, somnolence, paresthesia and warm sensations. The type and severity of the adverse events was not influenced by gender (although the frequency of reported adverse events was higher in females, as was the case in the placebo group), age, presence of aura prior to the attack, association of migraine with menstruation, concurrent medication, or by the addition of a second zolmitriptan dose. Zolmitriptan showed a similar tolerability profile in the long-term study, in which a low withdrawal rate due to adverse events of 8% was observed. Zolmitriptan was not associated with an increased frequency of central nervous system-related adverse events in a comparative study of sumatriptan, despite pre-clinical and neurophysiological evidence of a dual peripheral and central action of zolmitriptan. Moreover, zolmitriptan doses of 5–20 mg produced no statistically significant effects on objective assessments of psychometric function. Zolmitriptan had no clinically significant effects on blood pressure (even in patients with controlled mild to moderate hypertension or impaired renal function), ECGs (e.g. there was no evidence of ischemic events) or clinical chemistry, hematological or urinalysis measurements. In summary, zolmitriptan is well tolerated, particularly at the recommended dose of 2.5 mg. Zolmitriptan has a well-defined dose-response with 2.5 mg proving highly effective and optimizing the benefit/risk ratio of treatment. Thus, zolmitriptan is well suited as an acute oral treatment for migraine in the outpatient setting. </jats:p