Wegovy Helps Reduce Migraine Severity, Especially in Women

• A examine has discovered that remedy with semaglutide led to lowered triptan utilization in ladies.
• Nonetheless, no important impact was noticed in males with obese or weight problems.
• Specialists say reductions in irritation or intracranial strain may play a task.
• Intercourse-related variations in how the physique handles semaglutide additionally seem like necessary.
• Extra analysis is required earlier than semaglutide might be beneficial as a migraine remedy.

A latest nationwide examine in Denmark has revealed that ladies who begin utilizing semaglutide, a preferred treatment prescribed for weight reduction, could expertise a lower within the want for normal migraine therapies.

The researchers discovered that females utilizing semaglutide had a noticeable discount of their use of a category of medication known as triptans.

Researchers from the College of Southern Denmark collaborated with Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical firm behind semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy for weight reduction and Ozempic for diabetes management), to investigate knowledge from Danish well being registries.

These registers include complete well being info on all the inhabitants, enabling an in depth examination of treatment use patterns.

The examine centered on adults who started semaglutide remedy for weight management between December 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024. It included practically 150,000 individuals who began semaglutide throughout the examine interval, of whom about two-thirds had been females.

For every particular person, the researchers tracked their use of triptans — the medicine generally taken for acute migraine reduction — for 2 years earlier than beginning semaglutide and for one 12 months afterward. This strategy enabled the researchers to watch modifications over time and to match triptan use earlier than and after semaglutide initiation.

The crew used statistical fashions to look at month-to-month triptan consumption, measured in outlined day by day doses, among the many members.

Additionally they appeared on the variety of new triptan customers throughout the examine and analyzed variations amongst individuals who had already been utilizing triptans earlier than beginning semaglutide.

To higher perceive who was most affected, the researchers broke down the information by intercourse, age teams, how persistently folks remained on semaglutide, and whether or not they had beforehand used preventive migraine drugs.

Total, round 4.6% of the people used triptans throughout the examine interval.

Earlier than starting semaglutide, it was discovered that triptan use was on the rise amongst members.

Nonetheless, after beginning the treatment, this development reversed, and triptan use started to say no progressively over the next 12 months.

On the one-year mark, there was a modest however clear discount in triptan consumption in comparison with what would have been anticipated primarily based on earlier traits.

This lower was primarily seen in individuals who had been already utilizing triptans earlier than beginning semaglutide, suggesting that the drug may cut back the necessity for migraine reduction in these with a historical past of migraine.

There was no important change within the variety of new triptan customers, nonetheless, indicating that semaglutide doesn’t seem to forestall new circumstances of migraine from growing.

When evaluating women and men, the examine additionally discovered that females skilled an 8% discount in triptan use after beginning semaglutide, whereas males confirmed no important change. This sex-specific impact could also be linked to variations in how women and men reply to semaglutide, together with usually larger weight reduction amongst females.

Age additionally performed a task, with the most important reductions in triptan use seen in youthful adults aged 18 to 35.

Moreover, individuals who had beforehand taken preventive migraine drugs noticed a extra pronounced lower of their want for triptans.

The researchers additional noticed that the modifications in triptan use occurred progressively fairly than instantly after beginning semaglutide, suggesting a gradual however regular enchancment in migraine symptoms over time.

Whereas the precise causes for these findings should not totally understood, a number of components may contribute.

Tom Lavin, MD, a board licensed surgeon and founding father of the telehealth firm yourEra, stated that inflammation and intracranial pressure could play a task, given how GLP-1 drugs perform within the physique and mind. Lavin wasn’t concerned within the examine.

“GLP‑1 drugs like semaglutide cut back irritation all through the physique, together with within the mind,” he advised Healthline. “Neuroinflammation is a serious driver of migraine, so decreasing irritation can considerably cut back each the frequency and severity of complications.”

These drugs additionally result in gradual weight reduction, which may cut back intracranial strain.

“Elevated strain contained in the cranium is linked to sure headache disorders, so decreasing that strain can immediately enhance migraine signs,” Lavin stated.

GLP‑1 drugs work together with a number of mind areas concerned in migraine pathways, he added, together with the hypothalamus, brainstem facilities just like the nucleus tractus solitarius, and reward circuits.

In accordance with Lavin, these techniques all have an effect on irritation, ache signaling, and hormonal regulation, which may contribute to migraine exercise.

Jill White, PharmD, CEO of Innovate Wellness, advised Healthline that “even a modest discount in triptan utilization may very well be significant for migraine sufferers.” White wasn’t concerned within the examine.

Decrease triptan use may imply sufferers are having fewer assaults, experiencing much less extreme assaults, or relying much less on rescue treatment, White advised Healthline.

“That is necessary as a result of frequent triptan use can contribute to medication-overuse headache and lowered high quality of life,” stated White.

“If GLP-1 receptor agonists cut back migraine burden not directly whereas concurrently bettering obesity-related comorbidities reminiscent of sleep apnea, hypertension, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation, some sufferers could expertise broad neurologic and metabolic advantages concurrently,” she added.

White additional famous the significance of the sex-specific findings, discussing how quite a lot of components, reminiscent of variations in hormonal influences, immune signaling, distribution of fatty tissues, sensitivity of the CGRP pathway, and hypothalamic regulation, may affect the upper frequency of migraine in females.

“It’s attainable that GLP-1-mediated metabolic or inflammatory enhancements work together in another way with feminine neuroendocrine physiology, resulting in larger observable profit in ladies,” stated White.

It may also be that females acquiring obesity treatments have the next baseline migraine prevalence or increased triptan utilization, she stated, making it simpler to detect reductions in utilization.

White concluded her remarks by saying, “The findings add to a rising physique of proof suggesting GLP-1 receptor agonists could have broader neurologic and anti inflammatory results past weight reduction alone.”

Whereas extra analysis is required earlier than GLP-1s might be beneficial as a migraine remedy, this examine presents the promise that semaglutide may also ease the burden of migraine for a lot of females.