Lasmiditan: Acute Migraine Treatment Without Vasoconstriction. A Review

Objective: To review the efficacy and safety of the newly Food and Drug Administration approved drug lasmiditan, and its place in therapy in the treatment of acute migraine attacks. Data Sources: A literature search of Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar was preformed (September 1999 to May 2021) using the following search terms: acute migraine treatment, triptans, lasmiditan, Reyvow, Rimegepant, Nurtec, Ubrogepant, Ubrelvy, migraine, vasoconstriction, and cardiovascular risk. Product labeling, https://www.clinicaltriasl.gov, and product monographs were also reviewed. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Relevant English-language studies were considered. Data Synthesis: Lasmiditan is the first in its class approved for acute migraine treatment. Lasmiditan exerts its therapeutic effect through agonism at the 5-HT_1F receptor, which has been shown to produce no vasoconstriction in preclinical models. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: It is both scientifically and clinically relevant to review lasmiditan and determine the value of an acute migraine drug that does not induce vasoconstriction. Patients with preexisting cardiovascular conditions for which current migraine therapy is contraindicated may benefit from therapeutic use of lasmiditan. However, the potential cardiovascular benefit needs to be weighed against the increased central nervous system risks observed with lasmiditan. Conclusions: Lasmiditan is an oral tablet drug that is used for acute migraine abortive treatment and data suggest that it does not induce vasoconstriction, a common side effect often observed with the current first-line abortive migraine treatment drug class, triptans. This is especially important in acute migraine patients with cardiovascular risk factors in which triptan use is contraindicated.