Eletriptan

Eletriptan (Relpax, Pfizer) is one of a group of anti-migraine medications commonly referred to as 'triptans'. It is a potent serotonin agonist at the 5-HT(1B/1D) receptor and is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine headaches. Eletriptan is administered orally. It is rapidly absorbed and has a bioavailability of 50% compared to 14% for sumatriptan. The relatively high lipophilicity of eletriptan compared to sumatriptan may explain its faster oral absorption and shorter time to onset of action. Results from comparative studies between oral eletriptan and sumatriptan indicate that eletriptan 80 mg was superior to sumatriptan 100 mg in onset of action, headache response rate, pain free response rate and relief of associated migraine symptoms at the 1 or 2 h time intervals. Although there was a modest increase in adverse events with eletriptan 80 mg than with sumatriptan 100 mg, eletriptan received a high patient acceptability rating (84%).