Evaluation of the concomitant use of oral preventive treatments and onabotulinumtoxinA in chronic migraine: the PREVENBOX study

Insights from 25 years of onabotulinumtoxinA in migraine - mechanisms and management

OnabotulinumtoxinA (BTX-A) was first linked to beneficial effects in migraine 25 years ago and was approved by the FDA for preventive treatment of chronic migraine in 2010. The treatment has since had a major impact on the well-being of people with chronic migraine. The clinical development programme for BTX-A and research since its approval have provided insights into the neuromodulatory sensory effect of BTX-A, how it can control chronic migraine despite its peripheral action, and the underlying biology of migraine as a disease. In this Review, we consider the impact that BTX-A has had on the management of chronic migraine and on the research field. We discuss the insights provided by clinical research, encompassing the clinical trials and subsequent real-world evidence, and the mechanistic insights provided by preclinical and translational research. We also provide an overview of future directions of research in the field BTX-A in migraine and the clinical translation of this research.

Evaluation of the concomitant use of prophylactic treatments in patients with migraine under anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide therapies: The PREVENAC study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) therapies are recent preventive therapies approved for both episodic and chronic migraine. One of the measures of effectiveness is the withdrawal of other preventive treatments. The objective of this study is to quantify the impact of anti-CGRP drugs in concomitant preventive treatment in patients with migraine.

METHODS

This was an observational, retrospective, multicenter cohort study with patients from nine national headache units. Patients with migraine undergoing treatment for at least 6 months with anti-CGRP antibodies, who were initially associated with some preventive treatment (oral and/or onabotulinumtoxinA) were included. Demographic and clinical variables were collected, as well as variables related to headache. Differences according to withdrawal or nonwithdrawal were evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 408 patients were included, 86.52% women, 48.79 (SD = 1.46) years old. Preventive treatment was withdrawn in 43.87% (179/408), 20.83% partially and 23.04% totally. In 27.45% (112/408), it was maintained exclusively due to comorbidity and in 28.6% (117/408) due to partial efficacy. The most frequent time of withdrawal was between 3 and 5 months after the start of treatment. The baseline characteristics associated with nonwithdrawal were comorbidities: insomnia, hypertension and obesity, chronic migraine, and medication overuse. In the multivariate analysis, the absence of high blood pressure, a greater number of preventive treatments at the start, and a lower number of migraine days/month after anti-CGRP treatment were independently associated with withdrawal of the treatment (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-CGRP antibodies allow the withdrawal of associated preventive treatment in a significant percentage of patients, which supports its effectiveness in real-life conditions.

A Retrospective Real-Life Multicenter Study on Concurrent Oral Preventive Treatments in Patients with Chronic Migraine Treated with OnabotulinumtoxinA

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

OnabotulinumtoxinA (BoNTA) is a relatively safe and effective treatment for chronic migraine. The local mode of action of BoNTA favors the combination of oral treatments with systemic action. However, little is known about the possible interactions with other preventive treatments. The objective of the study was to describe the use of oral preventive treatments in patients with chronic migraine treated with BoNTA in routine clinical care and discuss the tolerability and efficacy according to the presence or absence of concomitant oral treatments.

METHODS

In this multicenter, observational, retrospective, cohort study, we collected data from patients with chronic migraine receiving prophylactic treatment with BoNTA. Patients were eligible if aged ≥18 years, diagnosed with chronic migraine according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition criteria, and treated with BoNTA according to the PREEMPT paradigm. We documented the proportion of patients with at least one concomitant treatment prescribed specifically for migraine (CT+M) and their side effects during four BoNTA treatment cycles. Additionally, we collected monthly headache days and monthly acute medication days from the patients' headache diaries. Patients with CT+M were compared to those without concomitant treatment (CT-) using a nonparametric approach.

RESULTS

Our cohort included 181 patients taking BoNTA, of whom 77 (42.5%) received a CT+M. The most frequently prescribed concomitant treatments were antidepressants and antihypertensive drugs. Side effects in the CT+M group occurred in 14 patients (18.2%). Only in three of them (3.9%), the side effects had a significant interference with the patient's functioning (all in topiramate 200-mg/day users). Both CT+M and CT- groups had a significant reduction in monthly headache days of respectively - 6 (95% confidence interval - 9, - 3; p < 0.001; w = 0.200) during cycle 4 compared with baseline versus - 9 (95% confidence interval - 13, -6; p < 0.001; w = 0.469). However, the reduction in monthly headache days was significantly smaller in patients with CT+M after the fourth treatment cycle compared with patients with CT- (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Prescription of oral concomitant preventive treatment is common in patients with chronic migraine receiving BoNTA. We did not identify any unexpected safety or tolerability issues in patients receiving BoNTA and a CT+M. However, patients with a CT+M experienced a smaller reduction in monthly headache days when compared with those with CT-, which might be associated with a higher resistance to treatment in that subgroup of patients.

Quantitative and Qualitative Pain Evaluation in Response to OnabotulinumtoxinA for Chronic Migraine: An Observational Real-Life Study

(1) Background: Randomized controlled trials and real-life studies demonstrated the efficacy of OnabotulinumtoxinA (OBT-A) for CM prevention. However, no studies specifically addressed its effect on pain's quantitative intensity and qualitative characteristics. (2) Methods: This is an ambispective study: a post-hoc retrospective analysis of real-life prospectively collected data from two Italian headache centers on CM patients treated with OBT-A over one year (i.e., Cy1-4). The primary endpoint was the changes in pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale, NRS; the Present Pain Intensity (PPI) scale, the 6-point Behavioral Rating Scale (BRS-6)) and quality scale (the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ)) scores. We also assessed the relationship between changes in intensity and quality of pain and disability scale (MIDAS; HIT-6) scores, monthly headache days (MHDs), and monthly acute medication intake (MAMI) (3) Results: We retrieved 152 cases (51.5 years SD 11.3, 80.3% females). From baseline to Cy-4, MHDs, MAMI, NRS, PPI, and BRS-6 scores decreased (consistently p < 0.001). Only the throbbing (p = 0.004), splitting (p = 0.018), and sickening (p = 0.017) qualities of pain collected in the SF-MPQ were reduced. Score variations in MIDAS related to those in PPI scales (p = 0.035), in the BRS-6 (p = 0.001), and in the NRS (p = 0.003). Similarly, HIT-6 score changes related to PPI score modifications (p = 0.027), in BRS-6 (p = 0.001) and NRS (p = 0.006). Conversely, MAMI variation was not associated with qualitative or quantitative pain score modifications except BRS-6 (p = 0.018). (4) Conclusions: Our study shows that OBT-A alleviates migraine by reducing its impact on multiple aspects, such as frequency, disability, and pain intensity. The beneficial effect on pain intensity seems specific to pain characteristics related to C-fiber transmission and is associated with a reduction in migraine-related disability.

Iron Deposits in Periaqueductal Gray Matter Are Associated with Poor Response to OnabotulinumtoxinA in Chronic Migraine

Previous studies have reported increased brain deposits of iron in patients with chronic migraine (CM). This study aims to determine the relation between iron deposits and outcome after treatment with OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA). Demographic and clinical data were collected for this study through a prospective cohort study including 62 CM patients treated with OnabotA in the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Demographic and clinical variables were registered. Selected biomarkers in plasma during interictal periods (calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and pentraxin-3 (PTX3)) and neuroimaging changes (iron deposits in the red nucleus (RN), substantia nigra (SN), globus pallidus (GP), and periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), and white matter lesions (WML)) were determined. Subjects were classified in responders (≥50% reduction in headache days) or non-responders (<50%). Responders to treatment were younger (mean age difference = 12.2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.4–18.9, p = 0.001), showed higher serum levels of CGRP (≥50 ng/mL) and PTX3 (≥1000 pg/mL) and smaller iron deposits in the GP and PAG (mean difference = 805.0; 95% CI: 37.9–1572.1 μL, p = 0.040 and mean difference = 69.8; 95% CI: 31.0–108.6 μL, p = 0.008; respectively). Differences in PAG iron deposits remained significant after adjusting for age (mean difference = 65.7; 95% CI: 22.8–108.6 μL, p = 0.003) and were associated with poor response to OnabotA after adjustment for clinical and biochemical variables (odds ratio (OR) = 0.963; 95% CI: 0.927–0.997, p = 0.041). We conclude that larger PAG iron deposits are associated with poor response to OnabotA in CM.