Migraine headache treatment with eletriptan, a second-generation serotoninreceptor agonist

Eletriptan is a member of the triptan family of selective serotonin recepto r agonists. These act against migraine by inducing vasoconstriction of the meningeal arteries. In pharmacological tests, eletriptan has shown high aff inity for the 5-HT1B/1D receptors, which have been implicated in the etiolo gy of migraine headache attacks. Pharmacokinetic evaluations have concluded that eletriptan offers greater bioavailability than sumatriptan, the effec tive predecessor to eletriptan. A rapid onset of action has also been chara cteristic of eletriptan in clinical trials, which have likewise demonstrate d eletriptan's superiority to sumatriptan in granting relief of headache pa in and other symptoms associated with migraine to a greater number of migra ine patients. The drug has generally been well tolerated with only mild to moderate adverse events reported. These characteristics make eletriptan an attractive alternative to sumatriptan in the treatment of migraine. (C) 200 1 Prous Science. All rights reserved.