Deprescribing and Anti-CGRP preventive therapy in medication-overuse headache associated with migraine:...

Medication-overuse headache (MOH) associated with migraine is a biologically driven disorder involving central sensitization, maladaptive neuroplasticity, and enhanced calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) signaling. While structured deprescribing addresses medication-related drivers, withdrawal alone often provides limited and unsustained benefit. Anti-CGRP preventive therapies offer targeted modulation of migraine pathways without reinforcing medication overuse. This study integrates pathophysiological insights with real-world evidence from a single-center study of 47 patients treated with combined deprescribing and anti-CGRP therapy. Clinically meaningful reductions in monthly migraine days were observed, with 85.1% achieving ≥50% reduction at 6 months and 78.7% achieving >75% reduction at 12 months. Our clinical experience also suggests that long-standing combination analgesic overuse may be associated with a slower treatment response. The present findings support a mechanism-based treatment approach and suggest that combining preventive therapy with deprescribing may optimize long-term outcomes in patients with migraine-associated MOH.