This weight loss drug can reduce your migraine days by half its not Ozempic

Next-generation weight loss drugs may do more than shrink your waistline.A new study suggests that a medication in the same family as Ozempic could cut the number of days people suffer from migraines by more than half.“Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported quality of life improved significantly,” said Dr.

Simone Braca, a neurologist at the University of Naples Federico II and lead author of the study. Researchers tested liraglutide, a medication that mimics the GLP-1 hormone, which helps regulate blood sugar, suppress appetite and aid digestion.The drug is currently marketed as Victoza for Type 2 diabetes and as Saxenda for long-term weight management in people with obesity.The researchers gave liraglutide to 31 adults with obesity and chronic migraines, defined as having 15 or more headache days per month.Before joining the study, each participant had tried at least two other migraine-prevention drugs without success.After taking a daily 1.8 milligram dose of liraglutide for three months, their average headache days dropped from 20 to about nine per month.Participants also saw a 35-point drop on the Migraine Disability Assessment Test, which signals a meaningful improvement in their work, school and social life.“The benefit lasted for the full three-month observation period, even though weight loss was modest and statistically non-significant,” Braca said.Rather than weight loss easing migraines, researchers believe the medication works by lowering the pressure of cerebrospinal fluid — the liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.“An increased pressure of the spinal fluid in the brain may be one of the mechanisms underlying migraine,” Braca told ABC News.“If we target this mechanism, this preliminary evidence suggests it may help migraine sufferers.”The drug was generally well-tolerated, with about 38% of participants reporting mild side effects like nausea and constipation, but none stopped treatment because of ...