title: Almotriptan: a review of pharmacology, clinical efficacy, and tolerability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article summarizes preclinical and clinical data for almotriptan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Almotriptan has been evaluated in more than 3,500 acute migraine patients in phase 2 and 3 double-blind, randomized trials and in 1,500 patients in long-term open-label trials.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Controlled clinical trials show that almotriptan 12.5 mg is significantly more effective than placebo. These results are observed across different endpoints examined, including pain relief at 2 hours, pain-free outcome at 2 hours, recurrence rate, use of escape medication, and sustained pain-free outcome. The onset of pain relief is observed as early as 30 minutes after administration. Results from a multiple-attack study show that almotriptan maintains a consistency of response across 3 attacks, and results from long-term studies confirm that patients continue to respond to almotriptan for up to 1 year. Results from 2 comparative studies show that almotriptan 12.5 mg has comparable efficacy to sumatriptan 50 or 100 mg, but almotriptan has a superior tolerability profile. Early use of almotriptan results in a higher proportion of patients achieving pain relief or complete freedom from pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because almotriptan has a tolerability profile comparable to that of placebo, it may be more acceptable for early administration. The incidence of treatment-related adverse events with almotriptan is comparable to that of placebo and significantly lower than recorded with sumatriptan. In addition, almotriptan has a low incidence of chest symptoms, an adverse event associated with triptan use. Because of its comparable efficacy and superior tolerability profile, almotriptan offers a potential improvement over existing triptans for the treatment of acute migraine.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Headache Wellness Center, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: SeggernRandalL
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Von
mesh_terms: D017322:Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014363:Tryptamines; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D007211:Indoles; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D014363:Tryptamines; C409045:almotriptan