title: Rizatriptan does not change cerebral blood flow velocity during migraine attacks.
abstract: Rizatriptan represents a major advance in the treatment of migraine attack: inhibition of peripheral trigeminal nerve and constriction of intracranial extracerebral blood vessels have been proposed as its main antimigraine mechanisms of action. Although many studies may suggest that rizatriptan causes highly selective vasoconstriction within intracranial extracerebral vessels (i.e., meningeal arteries), no literature data are available to date on possible cerebral hemodynamic changes in humans after treatment with rizatriptan. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rizatriptan on cerebral blood flow velocity performing transcranial Doppler during spontaneous attacks of migraine without aura. Fourteen patients suffering from migraine without aura were monitored to evaluate mean flow velocity changes on both middle cerebral arteries during migraine attack 30 min before and 120 min after oral administration of rizatriptan 10mg. Monitoring was repeated for 30 min during the pain-free period. All patients turned out to be drug responders and no significant mean flow velocity changes were observed between the pain-free period and pre-treatment phase; besides no significant difference in mean flow velocity value have been detected between the periods after the drug administration during the attack versus both pre-treatment period and pain-free phase. These findings indicate that the antimigraine action of rizatriptan is not associated with clear intracranial cerebral hemodynamic changes and may support its cerebrovascular safety.
authors.affiliation: University Centre for Adaptive Disorders and Headache (UCADH), Section of Pisa I Institute of Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy. s.gori@med.unipi.it
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bonanni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manca
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iudice
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects*; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors; D014230:Triazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014363:Tryptamines
chemical_list: D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D014230:Triazoles; D014363:Tryptamines; C093622:rizatriptan