A diabetes medication that lowers brain fluid pressure has cut monthly migraine days by more than half, according to a new study presented today at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2025.
Researchers at the Headache Centre of the University of Naples "Federico II" gave the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide to 26 adults with obesity and chronic migraine (defined as ≥15 headache days per month). Patients reported an average of 11 fewer headache days per month, while disability scores on the Migraine Disability Assessment Test dropped by 35 points, indicating a clinically meaningful improvement in work, study, and social functioning.
GLP-1 agonists have gained recent widespread attention, reshaping treatment approaches for several diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In the treatment of type 2 diabetes, liraglutide helps lower blood sugar levels and reduce body weight by suppressing appetite and reducing energy intake.
Importantly, while participants' body-mass index declined slightly (from 34.01 to 33.65), this change was not statistically significant. An analysis of covariance confirmed that BMI reduction had no effect on headache frequency, strengthening the hypothesis that pressure modulation, not weight loss, drives the benefit.
Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported quality of life improved significantly. The benefit lasted for the full three-month observation period, even though weight loss was modest and statistically non-significant."
Dr. Simone Braca, lead researcher
Patients were screened to exclude papilledema (optic disc swelling resulting from increased intracranial pressure) and sixth nerve palsy, ruling out idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) as a confounding factor. Growing evidence closely links subtle increases in intracranial pressure to migraine attacks. GLP-1-receptor agonists such as liraglutide reduce cerebrospinal fluid secretion and have already proved effective in treating IIH. Therefore, building on these observations, Dr Braca and colleagues hypothesised that exploiting the same mechanism of action might ultimately dampen cortical and trigeminal sensitisation that underlie migraine.
"We think that, by modulating cerebrospinal fluid pressure and reducing intracranial venous sinuses compression, these drugs produce a decrease in the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a key migraine-promoting peptide", Dr Braca explained. "That would pose intracranial pressure control as a brand-new, pharmacologically targetable pathway."
Mild gastrointestinal side effects (mainly nausea and constipation) occurred in 38% of participants but did not lead to treatment discontinuation.
Following this exploratory 12-week pilot study, a randomised, double-blind trial with direct or indirect intracranial pressure measurement is now being planned by the same research team in Naples, led by professor Roberto De Simone. "We also want to determine whether other GLP-1 drugs can deliver the same relief, possibly with even fewer gastrointestinal side effects", Dr Braca noted.
If confirmed, GLP-1-receptor agonists could offer a new treatment option for the estimated one in seven people worldwide who live with migraine, particularly those who do not respond to current preventives. Given liraglutide's established use in type 2 diabetes and obesity, it may represent a promising case of drug repurposing in neurology.
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