Global Burden of Disease 2010 study considers migraine as one of the most important noncommunicable diseases in the world, classifying it third in terms of global prevalence (14.70%): it sums up the 54.19% of all the years of life lived with disabilities caused by the rest of all neurological disorders. This Editorial provides an historical excursus of old and new-entry molecules in migraine therapeutic area. Drugs for acute treatment such as triptans date back to the early 1990s with the appearance of sumatriptan and the following six triptans in the years immediately after (zolmitriptan, rizatriptan, naratriptan, eletriptan, almotriptan, frovatriptan). Prophylaxis drugs, dedicated to patients with medium/high frequency of crises, show as last entries topiramate and botulinum toxin type A. The use of this preventative group, with its intrinsic limits, is mandatory to reduce the risk of migraine chronification, a highly harmful clinical phenomenon that produces as its natural consequence the medication overuse headache. The development of new acute and preventative compounds, such as 5HT (serotonin) 1F receptor (5-HT1F) agonist lasmiditan, calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) peptide receptor antagonists, anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies (LY2951742, ALD403, LBR101) and anti-CGRP-r monoclonal antibody (AMG334), is warranted and might be soon completed in order to offer new opportunities to migraine patients.
Keywords: 5-HT1F; CGRP; burden of disease; migraine; triptans.