GLP-1 drugs may help reduce chronic migraine days by about half, study finds
Monthly migraine frequency depends on a person's health and exposure to triggers. Currently, migraine is treated through medications and various lifestyle changes. A new study says that GLP-1 medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity may help cut a person's monthly migraine days by about half. Researchers estimate that more than 1 billion people globally live with migraine, a neurological condition causing severe, chronic headaches that are often accompanied by other issues such as nausea and light sensitivity.The number of migraine headaches a person has each month varies depending on their situation and overall health. Those with chronic migraine can experience them for 15 or more days each month. Migraine headaches also range in severity and length of time, normally lasting anywhere between four to 72 hours. Currently, migraine is treated through medications and lifestyle changes to help stop migraine triggers from occurring, such as stress, poor sleep, certain foods, and environmental factors like strong smells, loud noises, or bright light. 'Despite new advancements, there is still an unmet need in migraine treatment, imposing a substantial burden on patients,' Simone Braca, MD, a neurology resident and clinical research fellow at the Headache Centre of the University of Naples in Italy, told Medical News Today. Braca is the lead author of a new study recently presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2025 that has found that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity may help cut a person's monthly migraine days by about half. The study was published in the journal Headache.Focusing on the GLP-1 agonist liraglutideFor this study, researchers recruited 31 study participants with both obesity and chronic migraine, who were given the GLP-1 medication liraglutide. Liraglutide is currently sold under two brand names: Victoza for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and Saxenda for chronic weight management. 'In our country it was easier to have access to liraglutide, compared to other GLP-1 agonists,' Braca explained. 'In any case, we think that the observed effect reflects a mechanism of action inherent to targeting the GLP-1 receptor.'Braca said they decided to study the potential impact of GLP-1s on migraine based on previous work done by their research team, which suspected that a derangement in intracranial pressure control plays a role in the pathophysiology of migraine.'Since GLP-1R agonists are known to greatly modulate and reduce intracranial pressure, we therefore hypothesized that these drugs could be effective in migraine,' he said. 9 fewer migraine days per month with GLP-1At the study's conclusion, Braca and his team found that study participants taking liraglutide had an average of nine fewer migraine days each month. 'They saw their headache days per month drastically reduced, with consequent improvement in their quality of life,' Braca commented. Additionally, researchers also discovered that study participants experienced a drop in their Migraine Disability Assessment Test scores by 32 points. '(This) means that they saw their migraine-related burden drastically reduced, adding a nuanced view on their quality of life improvement beyond the raw number of headache days,' Braca said. 'If confirmed by subsequent larger, multicenter, randomized, and controlled studies, GLP-1 agonists may represent a novel class of drugs for migraine prevention,' he continued. 'Additionally, this would place intracranial pressure control as one of the mechanisms underlying migraine, a pharmacologically-targetable one.'Braca added that they plan to conduct a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study as this was a pilot, exploratory study.Findings that could potentially be life-changingMNT spoke with Hsinlin Thomas Cheng, MD, PhD, senior neurologist in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, about this study. 'The study helps to answer a common question: whether GLP-1 agonists can reduce the frequency of migraines,' Cheng said. 'The hypothesis is supported by the facts that there are GLP-1 receptors in the choroid plexus, the structure that produces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and regulates intracranial pressure, and weight loss is an essential component of headache management. Using GLP-1 agonists may provide dual benefits in regulating CSF pressure and weight control, thereby reducing migraine frequency.' Luis Felipe Tornes, MD, neurologist and director of the epilepsy program at Miami Neuroscience Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, told MNT he was cautiously enthusiastic about this research's findings.'As a neurologist who treats people with chronic migraines, seeing a diabetes medication cut migraine days in half was exciting,' Tornes said. 'These patients were dealing with at least 15 headache days a month, and on average, they had 11 fewer days after taking the medication for just three months. That's life-changing for someone living with near-constant pain. And the effect didn't seem to be from weight loss — it may be helping by reducing intracranial pressure, which opens up a whole new way to think about treating migraines.'— Luis Felipe Tornes, MDMNT also spoke with Hao Huang, MD, a neurologist at Hackensack University Medical Center and assistant professor of Neurology at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey, about this research. He commented that while the reduction in headache days is impressive, the study is small and lacks direct measurement of intracranial pressure.'For next steps in the research of migraines, and in this particular case, the role of GLP-1-receptor agonists, it would be helpful to see a larger group of migraine patients in studies,' Huang said. 'It'll be interesting to see what this research team finds in their next study into whether other GLP-1 drugs can positively affect migraine sufferers without the physical discomfort experienced by the participants of the pilot study,' he added.
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Royal College of Surgeons of England president Tim Mitchell said: "The NHS is changing course, but the sails still lack wind."Progress is being made in some parts of the country, but it's too slow to meet the government's ambition of hitting the 18-week target by the end of this parliament."Delayed operations mean patients left waiting in pain, with their condition potentially deteriorating."He said the extra money being put into the NHS in the coming years would help, but "serious underinvestment" in infrastructure like operating theatres over the years is hampering Alsina, chief executive of the patient group Versus Arthritis, also has doubts, saying there was scepticism about whether the rapid progress needed could be she added: "It is impossible to overstate the personal, physical and mental toll of being stuck on a waiting list in daily pain, sometimes for years."There's also a wider impact on society, with many people on waiting lists having to drop out of work, despite wanting to stay in employment, and becoming increasingly reliant on others."The interim targets for March 2026 mean trusts either have to be seeing 60% of patients within 18 weeks of referral or improve on their November 2024 position by five percentage points - whichever is the NHS overall in England is expected to ensure 65% of patients do not wait longer than 18 weeks - currently less than 60% majority of trusts have already started making progress, however a BBC Verify analysis shows 50 - more than one third - are now further away from the target since November the trusts that have improved are taken into account the overall trend though is positive. A handful of trusts have already got to where they need to be by next March - as long as they can keep their waiting lists and West Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust had more than 48,000 patients waiting less than 18 weeks so far for treatment, 64.2% of the total, in April. That is up from 58.7% in Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust also reached 60.1% in April, up from 54.9% in biggest target for improvement was set for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust in Harlow, according to our analysis. In November, 41.8% of its patients were waiting less than 18 weeks. By April, that had risen to about 48.8% - one of the biggest improvements in England so far. But it needs to rise further by more than 11 percentage points by next chief executive Thom Lafferty said they were "delighted" with their progress."We recognise the impact for patients who are waiting for care and we are enhancing integration and collaboration with our partners to ensure that patients can access the right care, in the right place, at the right time."Some trusts have a higher mountain to climb because their figures have dipped since and South Essex NHS Trust started out with 52.8% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks in November. But when the clock started in April, it had fallen to 47%.Two of its theatres at Basildon Hospital have been closed for work along with some of the trust's procedure rooms and it has had an increase in executive Matthew Hopkins said it was putting on extra clinics and had a new orthopaedic procedure room opening soon, adding: "We are confident we will improve our waiting times and improve patient experience."Others that have fallen despite requiring large improvements include the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Shropshire (down from 48.3% to 44.9%) and Countess of Chester, down from 49.6% to 47.1%.Cathy Chadwick, chief operating officer for Countess of Chester, said more clinics and investment in new technology would bring down waiting lists and the trust was confident of meeting the target by next March.A spokesman for RJAH said: "We have a clear ambition to hit the target of 60% by March 2026, and are confident that the plans we have put in place will enable us to do so." Targets in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different and the interim targets for next March set by the UK government do not the NHS is not meeting the waiting time targets in any Scotland aims for 90% of patients to be treated within 18 weeks of referral, in Wales the target is for 95% of patients to wait less than 26 Northern Ireland, 55% of patients should wait no longer than 13 weeks for day case or inpatient treatment. Interactive tool produced by Alli Shultes, Rebecca French, Ollie Lux Rigby, Chris Kay, Adam Allen, Avi Holden and Rebecca Wedge-Roberts What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
