Recently developed weight loss drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro have inarguably helped patients tackle obesity and the health issues that come along with it. But just as with any medicine, some serious side effects can accompany GLP-1 prescriptions, including potentially fatal pancreatitis, unsightly skin changes, and more. However, it’s not all bad news: Scientists have recently announced that there may be a positive side effect to the drugs that could help patients tackle persistent migraines.
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A new study looked at how weight loss drugs affect migraines.
The latest insight comes from a small pilot study conducted by researchers in Italy and recently published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. They hypothesized that the increase in intracranial pressure (ICP, or pressure on the brain) that plays a part in chronic migraines might be mitigated by taking a GLP-1 drug. The team cited previous studies that have shown that weight loss medicines can reduce brain pressure.
To test their hypothesis, the team gathered 26 female and five male participants who had struggled with chronic migraines and obesity. The group was then prescribed a 1.8 mg daily dose of liraglutide for three months, which is a type of GLP-1 drug sold under the brand names Saxenda (directly for weight loss) and Victoza (for diabetes management and off-label for weight loss), per the Mayo Clinic.
The participants were instructed to keep a detailed headache diary to monitor their symptoms, including how intense their migraines were. Researchers also measured each person’s body mass index (BMI) over the course of the study to monitor any weight loss.
Here’s what the results found.
At the end of the 12-week pilot period, roughly half of the patients saw at least a 50 percent decrease in days with headaches, dropping from 20 to 11. Seven participants experienced an even better recovery, seeing their frequency drop as much as 75 percent—and one even saw their migraines disappear entirely. There was no notable difference in effects between male and female participants.
And it wasn’t just the frequency that decreased. Patients also reported being less debilitated by their migraines, with impact scores in participants’ daily diaries getting cut in half during the trial, ABC News reports. Overall, only a few patients reported other initial side effects, such as stomach issues and nausea, before they disappeared further into the study.
“Our findings show that liraglutide may be effective in the treatment of unresponsive high-frequency or chronic migraine in patients with obesity,” the team wrote in their conclusion.
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GLP-1 drugs might help fight migraines.
Throughout the study, the researchers noted an insignificant decrease in participants’ BMI, from 34.0 to 33.9, according to a press release. They said this suggests that weight loss itself likely isn’t the reason behind the decrease in migraines—meaning that the drugs could potentially have another off-label use.
“An increased pressure of the spinal fluid in the brain may be one of the mechanisms underlying migraine,” Simone Braca, MD, the study’s lead author and a neurologist at the University of Naples Federico II, told ABC News. “And if we target this mechanism, this preliminary evidence suggests that it may be helpful for migraine.”
The results could be the first steps towards an important breakthrough.
The researchers were quick to point out specific limitations of the study, including the very small sample size and the self-reported nature of the headache diaries.
However, they’re hopeful that their findings can provide a solid starting point for future studies on the potential of GLP-1 drugs to treat debilitating and persistent headaches. This includes whether different versions of the medicine, such as semaglutide drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic, could be equally effective.
“There is still a substantial portion of migraine patients that face an unmet need and that live with its burden,” Braca told ABC News. “New drugs that could target other pathways, I think that could be reassuring to those patients and give them hope.”
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The takeaway:
A small study conducted in Italy looked at a potential link between GLP-1 drugs and chronic migraines. Using 31 participants taking a typical daily dose of liraglutide drugs for three months, a team of scientists monitored daily headaches using a patient headache diary.
At the end of the 12 weeks, half of the participants saw a 50 percent decrease in the frequency of migraines. Another seven saw a 75 percent decrease, while one patient saw their migraines disappear entirely—even though their weight loss was minimal.
Scientists say further research is needed to better understand the potential uses, but they were hopeful that their findings could serve as a launchpad for future GLP-1 and migraine studies.