Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41107729›Full record

ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2025

CGRP-targeted therapy fulfilling the treatment gap in medication-underuse setting: a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary headache center in Thailand, a lower-middle-income country.

Sirawit Roongrojwittayakul, Prakit Anukoolwittaya, Akarin Hiransuthikul, Thanakit Pongpitakmetha, Sekh Thanprasertsuk, Wanakorn Rattanawong

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sirawit Roongrojwittayakul *Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Prakit Anukoolwittaya *Comprehensive Headache and Orofacial Pain (CHOP) Service and Research Group, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. p39617@gmail.com.
Akarin HiransuthikulComprehensive Headache and Orofacial Pain (CHOP) Service and Research Group, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Thanakit PongpitakmethaComprehensive Headache and Orofacial Pain (CHOP) Service and Research Group, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Sekh ThanprasertsukComprehensive Headache and Orofacial Pain (CHOP) Service and Research Group, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Wanakorn RattanawongComprehensive Headache and Orofacial Pain (CHOP) Service and Research Group, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMigraine preventive treatment is essential to reducing the burden of disease. However, discontinuation of oral migraine preventive medications (OMPMs) remains common due to suboptimal efficacy and tolerability, especially in lower-middle-income countries, which may contribute to migraine progression-a situation that has led to the introduction of the concept of "Medication Underuse Headache". The calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibody (CGRP mAbs) might close the gap in this situation. This study aimed to investigate the treatment patterns of migraine preventive medications over six months at a tertiary headache center in Thailand and to explore the association between each preventive medication class and discontinuation rates.

methodsA single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted between 2021 and 2023. Adult patients who were diagnosed with migraine and received at least one preventive medication at their first visit to the Headache Clinic at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were included, with a minimum follow-up period of six months. The primary outcome was the discontinuation of any migraine preventive medication from the baseline regimen during follow-up visits. A multivariable Cox regression model, adjusted for sex, age, and diagnosis, was used to explore baseline factors associated with the discontinuation of preventive migraine medications.

resultsAmong the 100 eligible patients (mean age [SD]: 39.6 [14.4] years; 87.0% female), 41.0% (41/100) discontinued at least one preventive medication, most commonly due to intolerance to side effects (53.7%, 22/41) and lack of treatment effectiveness (34.1%, 14/41). The highest discontinuation rates were observed with serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors at 53.8% (7/13), calcium channel blockers at 37.5% (6/16), and beta-blockers at 25.6% (11/43). Notably, no patients discontinued CGRP mAbs. Patients using CGRP mAbs at baseline had a significantly higher rate of discontinuing at least one other oral preventive medication compared to those who did not use CGRP mAbs: 31.7% vs. 25.4% at month 3, and 55.4% vs. 33.4% at month 6 (p = 0.04). After adjustment, baseline use of CGRP mAbs was significantly associated with an increased risk of discontinuing at least one medication in the regimen (adjusted odds ratio 2.16; 95% CI: 1.16 to 4.03, p = 0.02).

conclusionDiscontinuation of preventive migraine treatment remains a significant issue in Thailand. CGRP mAbs were associated with higher treatment persistence and may help reduce polypharmacy in migraine management.

Indexed as

Antibodies, MonoclonalCalcitonin Gene-Related PeptideMigraine DisordersAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTertiary Care CentersThailandAntibodies, MonoclonalCalcitonin Gene-Related PeptideCGRP-targeted therapyLow-middle-income countriesMedication-underuseMigraineThailandTreatment pattern

Identifiers

PMID41107729
PMCPMC12535081

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.