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Papers of the Week


Papers: 20 Jun 2020 - 26 Jun 2020


Pharmacology/Drug Development

PAIN TYPE:
Migraine/Headache


2020 Jun 18


CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets

The locus of action of CGRPergic monoclonal antibodies against migraine: peripheral over central mechanisms.

Authors

González-Hernández A, Marichal-Cancino BA, García-Boll E, Villalón CM
CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2020 Jun 18.
PMID: 32552657.

Abstract

Migraine is a complex neurovascular disorder characterized by attacks of moderate to severe unilateral headache, accompanied by photophobia or other neurological signs. Although an arsenal of antimigraine agents is currently available in the market, not all patients respond to them. As calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a key role in the pathophysiology of migraine, CGRP receptor antagonists (gepants) have been developed. Unfortunately, further pharmaceutical development (for olcegepant and telcagepant) was interrupted due to pharmacokinetic issues observed during the randomized clinical trials (RCT). On this basis, the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; immunoglobulins) against CGRP or its receptor has recently emerged as a novel pharmacotherapy to treat migraine. RCT showed that these mAbs are effective against migraine producing fewer adverse events. Presently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved four mAbs, namely: (i) erenumab; (ii) fremanezumab; (iii) galcanezumab; and (iv) eptinezumab. In general, specific antimigraine compounds exert their action in the trigeminovascular system, but the locus of action (peripheral vs. central) of the mAbs remains elusive. Since these mAbs have a molecular weight of 150 kDa, some studies rule out the relevance of their central actions as they seem unlikely to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Considering the therapeutic relevance of this new class of antimigraine compounds, the present review has attempted to summarize and discuss the current evidence on the probable sites of action of these mAbs.