Migraine headache treatment with eletriptan, a second-generation serotonin receptor agonist.
Eletriptan is a member of the triptan family of selective serotonin receptor agonists. These act against migraine by inducing vasoconstriction of the meningeal arteries. In pharmacological tests, eletriptan has shown high affinity for the 5-HT(1B/1D) receptors, which have been implicated in the etiology of migraine headache attacks. Pharmacokinetic evaluations have concluded that eletriptan offers greater bioavailability than sumatriptan, the effective predecessor to eletriptan. A rapid onset of action has also been characteristic of eletriptan in clinical trials, which have likewise demonstrated eletriptan's superiority to sumatriptan in granting relief of headache pain and other symptoms associated with migraine to a greater number of migraine 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) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.
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Medical Information Department, Prous Science, Barcelona, Spain. xrabasseda@prous.com
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