Weight-loss drug reduced migraine frequency in small study

Beyond diabetes control and weight management, GLP-1s could have yet another benefit: helping with migraines.

In a small study, a GLP-1 drug shrank the number of days people spent with a migraine by almost half in a given month.

Presented at the European Academy of Neurology Congress in Helinski, Finland, on June 21, the results suggest promising future uses of the popular obesity and diabetes drugs.

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Nearly 40 million Americans deal with migraines, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) — and for many, they’re more than just a headache.

Migraines are the second-leading cause of disability worldwide, the above agency states, with symptoms including severe headaches, nausea and sensitivity to light often disrupting daily activities. 

Previous studies showed GLP-1s can reduce pressure inside the skull, which is a possible cause of migraines, according to multiple health organizations. (iStock)

Previous studies have shown that GLP-1s can reduce pressure inside the skull, which is a possible cause of migraines, according to multiple health organizations.

Neurologist and study lead Simone Braca of the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, along with his colleagues, explored whether liraglutide, an earlier version of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), could help migraine sufferers. 

“Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported quality of life improved significantly.”

Thirty-one adults, 26 of them women, got daily injections of liraglutide for 12 weeks. The participants, who all met the criteria for obesity, also continued to take their current migraine medications.

At the start of the experiment, participants reported headaches about 20 days out of a month. After 12 weeks of liraglutide, the average number dropped to about 11 days.

“Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported quality of life improved significantly,” said Braca in a press release.

Participants’ weight stayed about the same during the trial, suggesting that headache reductions weren’t tied to weight loss. (iStock)

The relief from migraines lasted for the full three-month observation period, the researcher noted, although weight loss was “modest and statistically non-significant.”

Participants’ weight stayed about the same during the trial, suggesting that the headache reductions weren’t tied to weight loss.

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“Liraglutide is a ‘middle-aged’ GLP-1, with Ozempic and Mounjaro being newer,” Dr. Sue Decotiis, a triple board-certified weight loss specialist in New York City, told Fox News Digital.

Decotiis, who was not involved in the study, said that liraglutide is not as effective as its newer cousins for weight loss or diabetes, and is not frequently used for these purposes.

At the start of the experiment, participants reported headaches about 20 days out of a month. After 12 weeks of liraglutide, that number had dropped to 11. (iStock)

“Many pharmacies are not even stocking it due to declining demand, yet it gets into the brain well enough to reduce migraines,” she noted.

Potential limitations

The trial didn’t include a comparison group, and participants and researchers all knew that everyone received liraglutide, the researchers noted. 

Mild gastrointestinal side effects (mainly nausea and constipation) occurred in 38% of participants, but did not lead to treatment discontinuation.

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Further research may include other groups, such as control groups and people without obesity, to compare the drug’s effects.

“The study was very small,” Decotiis confirmed to Fox News Digital.

“The benefit lasted for the full three-month observation period, even though weight loss was modest and statistically non-significant,” said the study researcher. (iStock)

Given its size and brief duration, the findings could be limited until further research is conducted, according to the expert.

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The researchers also tested only one drug, liraglutide, “which is not used as frequently in the general population as semaglutide or tirzepatide are,” Decotiis added.

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Next, the team is planning a randomized, double-blind trial that will also measure pressure inside the skull. 

“We also want to determine whether other GLP-1 drugs can deliver the same relief, possibly with even fewer gastrointestinal side effects,” Braca said in the same press release.