Weight variations in patients receiving topiramate migraine prophylaxis in a tertiary care setting

Migraine is a highly prevalent chronic neurologic disorder. Frequent headache attacks require prophylactic treatment, and side effects are limiting prescribing factors among traditional agents for migraine prophylaxis. Beta-blockers, antidepressants, calcium channel blockers, and anticonvulsants have been used since the 1960s, and their efficacy has been demonstrated in several controlled studies. However, weight gain commonly occurs with most of these drugs and makes adherence to treatment a troublesome issue for many patients. Topiramate is a new anticonvulsant with proven efficacy in migraine and other conditions, which reportedly confers weight loss in patients receiving doses up to 300 mg/day.

The aim of this study was to evaluate adherence, weight loss, tolerability, and response to topiramate in adult migraineurs receiving treatment in a tertiary care center.

During a 2,5-year period, all patients receiving topiramate for migraine were evaluated after 3 months of treatment. The parameters evaluated were adherence to treatment, frequency in reduction of attacks > 50%, the presence and amount of weight loss, and adverse events.

Among 175 patients included, 134 (76.6%) adhered to the regimen, whereas 4% interrupted before the 3-month evaluation and 19.4% did not return for follow-up. Among the 134 patients evaluated, 82 (61.2%) revealed headache-frequency reduction > 50%; 105 (78.4%) patients experienced weight loss (range 1-10 kg; average, 3.4 kg). The most frequent side effects were paresthesia (39.6%); emotional disturbances, including depression, irritability, and anxiety (17.9%); thinking impairment (12.7%); memory disturbances (12.7%); and altered taste (11.9%).

Despite methodologic limitations, we conclude that good adherence to topiramate in a "real-world" headache clinic occurred in most of the study participants. The majority of patients also experienced weight loss and reductions in headache frequency, with an acceptable side-effect profile.