Migraine prevention trials and optimized acute therapy: translating lessons learned into clinical practice

Different classes of drugs, discovered by serendipity, have been used successfully for migraine prevention for more than 40 years. The progressive knowledge of migraine pathophysiology, brain hyperexcitability, and the specific neurotransmitter systems involved in pain perception has driven the attempts at targeting two crucial mechanisms: the restoration of nociceptive dysmodulation and the inhibition of cortical hyperexcitability. The success of modern research trials with preventive migraine agents (mainly neuromodulators) and optimized treatment of acute attacks with drug combinations aimed at low serotonergic function, neurogenic inflammation, and central sensitization has translated into better outcomes for patients and physicians. Trials combining preventive migraine agents with nonpharmacologic behavioral headache management have yielded additional benefits over either approach alone. With the clinical application of this updated information from clinical trials, migraine impact on productivity, quality of life, and suffering will certainly be diminished. We hope that these achievements will create a stable path of management to benefit our patients, without interruption, into the foreseeable future.