Pizotifen relieves acute migraine symptoms

• Published in: Libyan journal of medicine Vol. 3; no. 1; p. AOP:080102
• Main Author: A.S.M. Kamrul Huda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2008
• ISSN: 1819-6357

To The Editor: Various pharmacological agents are used for the treatment of migraine. In the last five years, various drug companies in Bangladesh have been marketing pizotifen as a preventive treatment of all types of migraine. Pizotifen is a serotonin antagonist acting mainly at the 5-HT1, 5-HT2A and 5HT2C receptors. It also has some activity as an antihistamine (1). Pizotifen is a well-established preventative therapy of migraine. I would like to report my own experience in using pizotifen in treating the acute attacks of migraine. Pizotifen was prescribed as acute therapy in 11 patients, 6 females (4 had migraine without aura and 2 had migraine with aura) and 5 males (all had migraine without aura). Three female and 5 male patients, who had migraine without aura, reported no beneficial effect of pizotifen as treatment for the acute attacks. Three female patients (two with migraine with aura and one with migraine without aura) had their headache relieved by use of pizotifen as treatment for the acute attacks. This is an initial observation about the effectiveness of pizotifen as acute therapy in migraine. However, this could be simply a placebo affect. Nevertheless, it will be worth exploring the role of pizotifen as a therapeutic agent for acute attacks of migraine by conducting well-designed randomized, controlled studies.