Acute Treatment of Migraine

Abstract

All patients with migraine merit acute treatment, which should optimally achieve a sustained pain-free response. Maximum acute treatment is associated with reduced risk of transformation of episodic to chronic migraine. The American Headache Society published the most recent complete evidence assessment of acute migraine treatments in 2015. Noninvasive neuromodulation represents a new, Food and Drug Administration-approved nonsignificant risk alternative for acute migraine therapy. The future of acute migraine treatment includes new devices and formulations of existing medications, new classes of acute medications, and new noninvasive nonsignificant risk neuromodulation devices, with many anticipated in the next few years.

Keywords: Acute migraine treatment; Ditans; Ergots; Gepants; Migraine; NSAIDs; Neuroleptics; Triptans.