Research Article: Evaluating the efficacy of rimegepant as a preventive treatment for chronic and episodic migraine: a three-month longitudinal retrospective cohort study
Abstract:
Rimegepant, an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist approved for both acute and preventive migraine treatment, demonstrates efficacy in clinical trials, but real-world evidence remains limited. This study examined the association between rimegepant use and changes in migraine frequency and patient-reported outcomes in a real-world clinical setting.
This retrospective cohort study conducted at The first affiliated hospital of Chongqing Medical University, analyzed medical records of 40 adults (aged 18–65 years) with chronic ( n = 21) or episodic migraine ( n = 19) who received rimegepant 75 mg every other day for 3 months. Primary outcomes were changes in monthly headache days (MHD) and monthly migraine days (MMD) from baseline. Secondary outcomes included: Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), and Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ).
Forty participants (mean age 41.12 ± 10.86 years; 80% women) were included, comprising 21 with chronic migraine and 19 with episodic migraine. All five outcome measures improved significantly from baseline to Month 3 (all P = 0.001). Monthly migraine days decreased from 17.27 ± 8.52 to 2.90 ± 2.91, and monthly headache days from 19.10 ± 7.46 to 5.60 ± 3.81. HIT-6 and MIDAS scores declined markedly (62.27 to 45.47 and 50.99 to 12.44, respectively), while MSQ scores improved from 59.94 to 86.53. Both chronic and episodic migraine subgroups showed significant improvements across all outcomes, with the greatest reductions in headache frequency occurring between baseline and Month 1. By Month 3, outcome values were comparable between subgroups despite substantial baseline differences.
In this retrospective cohort of patients with prior inadequate response to preventive therapy, Every-other-day rimegepant was associated with meaningful reductions in migraine frequency and headache-related disability over 3 months in both chronic and episodic migraine patients. These preliminary findings are encouraging but require confirmation in prospective controlled studies.
Introduction:
Rimegepant, an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist approved for both acute and preventive migraine treatment, demonstrates efficacy in clinical trials, but real-world evidence remains limited. This study examined the association between rimegepant use and changes in migraine frequency and patient-reported outcomes in a real-world clinical setting.
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