Liraglutide May Reduce Migraine Burden in Adults With Obesity, Migraine

MONDAY, June 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For adults with obesity and migraine, liraglutide reduces migraine burden, with reductions in mean monthly headache days and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores, according to a study presented at the 11th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, held from June 21 to 24 in Helsinki.

In a pilot prospective observational study, Simone Braca, M.D., from the University of Naples “Federico II” in Italy, and colleagues examined glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) as a potential promising approach to alleviating migraine in a pilot prospective observational study involving 26 patients with obesity and migraine who received subcutaneous liraglutide 1.2 mg daily for 12 weeks.

The researchers observed a decrease in mean monthly headache days from 20.04 ± 6.38 to 8.81 ± 6.01 after 12 weeks, and a reduction in MIDAS scores from 62.58 to 27.23. There was a decline seen in body mass index (BMI) from 34.01 to 33.65 kg/m², but this was not statistically significant. BMI reduction was not found to influence headache frequency in analysis of covariance. Ten patients (38 percent) had mild gastrointestinal adverse events, mainly nausea and constipation, but these events did not prompt discontinuation.

“We think that, by modulating cerebrospinal fluid pressure and reducing intracranial venous sinuses compression, these drugs produce a decrease in the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide, a key migraine-promoting peptide,” Braca said in a statement. “That would pose intracranial pressure control as a brand-new, pharmacologically targetable pathway.”

Abstract No. OPR-012

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