Almotriptan in the treatment of migraine

Almotriptan is a new selective serotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist which i s chemically related to sumatriptan and is used in the acute treatment of m igraine. Almotriptan, like the rest of the triptans, acts by inducing vasoc onstriction of the meningeal arteries. The new drug has good oral bioavaila bility, and in clinical studies has been shown to be at least as effective than sumatriptan 100 mg in alleviating migraine headache and associated sym ptoms (nausea, vomiting, phonophobia and photophobia) when administered as a single oral dose of 12.5 mg, this being the recommended dose. However, al motriptan has a very good tolerability profile, which has been shown to be superior to that of sumatriptan in two comparative trials. Therefore, almot riptan offers clear advantages over sumatriptan in the acute treatment of m igraine attacks.