TWENTY-4-HOUR EFFECTIVENESS OF BMS-180048 IN THE ACUTE TREATMENT OF MIGRAINE HEADACHES

The efficacy of EMS 180048, a 5-HT1 agonist in the acute treatment of a migraine headache, was evaluated in 216 patients. Three doses of the study drug were compared to placebo. Patients received a single test dose in the physician's office while being evaluated with a Holter mon itor during a headache-free day. They then treated a migraine headache with a single dose of the study drug as an outpatient. The 150 mg- an d 200-mg doses of 8448 were significantly superior to placebo on chang e in pain intensity at 2 hours. Patients treated with EMS 180048 had a longer duration of response than placebo-treated patients. At the 24- hour point, only 24% of the 150-mg group and 25% of the 200-mg group h ad relapsed, compared to placebo which had a 42% relapse rate. It is c oncluded that EMS 180048 is an effective compound for the treatment of migraine headaches with a prolonged duration of response.