Scientific publications
Safety of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies in patients with migraine during the COVID-19 pandemic: Present and future implications. Scientific Publication
E Caronna 1 , V José Gallardo 2 , A Alpuente 1 , M Torres-Ferrus 1 , N M Sánchez-Mateo 3 , J Viguera-Romero 4 , A C López-Veloso 5 , A López-Bravo 6 , A B Gago-Veiga 7 , P Irimia Sieira 8 , J Porta-Etessam 9 , S Santos-Lasaosa 10 , P Pozo-Rosich 11 , Spanish CGRP-COVID Study Group
Background and objective: CGRP, a neuropeptide involved in migraine pathophysiology, is also known to play a role in the respiratory system and in immunological conditions such as sepsis. We analyzed the impact of the use of CGRP antagonists in patients with migraine during the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Methods: This is a multicentre cross-sectional study. From May to November 2020, through a national survey distributed by the Spanish Society of Neurology, we collected data about the presence of COVID-19 symptoms including headache and their characteristics and severity in patients with migraine treated with anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAb), and compared them with patients with migraine not receiving this treatment. We also conducted a subanalysis of patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
Results: We recruited 300 patients with migraine: 51.7% (155/300) were taking anti-CGRP mAbs; 87.3% were women (262/300). Mean age (standard deviation) was 47.1 years (11.6). Forty-one patients (13.7%) met diagnostic criteria for COVID-19, with no statistically significant difference between patients with and without anti-CGRP mAb treatment (16.1% vs 11.0%, respectively; P=.320). Of the patients with COVID-19, 48.8% (20/41) visited the emergency department and 12.2% (5/41) were hospitalised. Likewise, no clinical differences were found between the groups of patients with and without anti-CGRP mAb treatment.
Conclusion: Anti-CGRP mAbs may be safe in clinical practice, presenting no association with increased risk of COVID-19.
CITATION Neurologia. 2021 Oct;36(8):611-617. doi: 10.1016/j.nrleng.2021.03.005.
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