Evidence Hub

Long-Term Effectiveness of Three Anti-CGRP Monoclonal Antibodies in Resistant Chronic Migraine Patients Based on the MIDAS score

L. Iannone, Davide Fattori, S. Benemei, A. Chiarugi, P. Geppetti, F. De Cesaris

CNS Drugs, 2022

73 citations

Abstract

Criteria, including clinical features and effective outcomes, for access and persistence of novel but costly treatments may vary between countries, thus affecting the health of patients. Monoclonal antibodies against the calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway (anti-CGRP mAbs) for migraine treatment are currently prescribed following strict criteria. The aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety of three anti-CGRP mAbs (erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab) in consecutive resistant chronic migraine patients presenting at our Headache Center and the impact of criteria set by the Italian Medicines Agency to start and continue (achieving a ≥ 50% reduction in Migraine Disability Assessment [MIDAS] score) with treatment under the reimbursement program. A monocentric, prospective, cohort study was conducted, enrolling 203 severe (resistant to three or more preventive treatments) chronic migraine patients (84.7% with medication overuse) treated with erenumab (47.2%), galcanezumab (36.5%), or fremanezumab (16.3%), with up to 12 months follow-up. Patients completed a headache diary that included monthly migraine days (MMDs), number of analgesics and days with analgesic use, and patient-reported outcome questionnaires (MIDAS, Headache Impact Test 6 [HIT-6] questionnaires, and the Patient Global Impression of Change [PGIC] scale). Moreover, percentages of patients showing ≥ 50%, ≥ 75% and 100% reduction in MMDs (responder rates) were calculated at different follow-ups. A…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free