Efficacy of monoclonal antibodies against CGRP in migraine patients with fibromyalgia comorbidity: a retrospective monocentric observational study.

BACKGROUND

Migraine is a common comorbidity with fibromyalgia (FM). CGRP is a potent inflammatory neuropeptide that may play a role in somatic and visceral pain either inflammatory or neuropathic. Previous studies have reported a significant number of migraine patients with FM responding to anti-CGRP therapies. The potential impact on diffuse pain and global disability associated with fibromyalgia is still unclear. In this retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study, we aimed to analyze the effects of a monoclonal antibody therapy in a subpopulation of migraineurs with FM compared to patients without this comorbidity by assessing the headache frequency and disability as well as the severity of FM (assessed by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ).

METHODS

Among 1088 patients came for the first visit to our headache Center between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, we examined six-month outcomes of 148 migraine patients prescribed various monoclonal antibodies to CGRP, erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab. One hundred and twenty-two patients were selected, 26 of whom suffered from FM. We retrospectively evaluated the following characteristics at baseline (T0) and after 6 months (T1),headache frequency and severity, number of days with symptomatic medication, and MIDAS score. In the FM patients, we evaluated the FIQ and the intensity of somatic pain using a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10.

RESULTS

Headache characteristics improved similarly in patients with and without FM comorbidity. The number of patients in whom headache frequency decreased by at least 50% was similar in the two migraine groups. In patients with FM, both fibromyalgia-related disability and somatic pain improved. The improvement in fibromyalgia disability was significantly correlated with the improvement in migraine-related disability.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that in migraine suffereres with FM, anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies had a similar beneficial effect on migraine as in non-fibromyalgia patients, in addition to reducing somatic pain and global disability from the disease. The anti-CGRP agents, represent a good option for the treatment of migraineurs with fibromyalgia, for which no resolutive therapy is yet available.