Treatment of hemiplegic migraine with triptans

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of triptans in patients who suffer from familial or sporadic hemiplegic migraine. Seventy-six subjects had used triptans at least once as an abortive treatment. Average triptan response was 6.9 (SD +/-3.1) and adverse event severity 4.9 (SD +/-3.3) on a scale from 0 to 10 (no response or side effect 0, excellent response or unbearable side effects 10). None of the patients had an ischaemic stroke or a heart attack. One patient reported prolonged neurological symptoms, related to a single dose of rizatriptan, but there were no pathological findings in several MRI-scans. Triptans seem to be safe and effective treatment for most hemiplegic migraine patients.