Patients who had responded poorly to triptans saw benefit
Lasmiditan, a serotonin agonist which targets 5-HT1F receptors, may be effective for patients with moderate to severe migraine disability regardless of their prior response to triptans, researchers reported here.
In a combined post-hoc analysis of two phase III studies, the therapeutic benefit of lasmiditan in patients with moderate or severe migraine disability was "generally unaffected" by their prior triptan therapy response, according to Kerry Knievel, DO, of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, and colleagues in a poster presentation at the 2018 PAINWeek conference.
"Although this was an ad hoc study, it offers hope for many of our patients who have disabling migraine [and] who have no or incomplete response to treatment with triptans -- the current gold standard," Lawrence Newman, MD, of New York University Langone Health in New York City, who was not involved in the research, told MedPage Today.
In two randomized, double-blind phase III trials -- SAMURAI and SPARTAN -- oral lasmiditan bested placebo in acute treatment of migraine. Both trials of the investigational drug studied adults with moderate to severe migraine disability (Migraine Disability Assessment score ≥11). In both studies, the percentage of patients who were migraine pain-free 2 hours after their first dose was significantly greater with 100 mg or 200 mg lasmiditan compared with placebo.
Most interesting, to me, is how these studies demonstrate drug companies' desperation for catchy, appropriate-sounding acronyms. SAMURAI - Study of Two Doses of LAsMiditan Compared to Placebo in the AcUte Treatment of MigRAIne. SPARTAN - Study of Three Doses of Lasmiditan Compared to Placebo in the Acute TReaTment of MigrAiNe.
Hey, @anaisnein, how much grant money do you think I could get for studying the impact of Tumblr culture on ranDOM-lOOking CaSe CHAnges in clINIcal TRiaL nAMes?
