J Korean Neurol Assoc.  1995 Sep;13(3):543-550.

The Clinical Efficacy of Subcutaneous Sumatriptan (Imigran) for Acute Treatment of Migraine

• Joo JH
• Lee SC
• Sung SM
• Jung DS
• Park KH

Abstract

Sumatripan is a selective agonist at the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT,) -like receptor. An open, uncontrolled study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic response of Korean patients to sumatriptan 6mg using an autoinjector for acute migraine attacks. 38 migraineurs were diagnosed by neurologists and included in the study. However, 7 patients were withdrawn as they failed to have an attack and one more or one additional patient was withdrawn due to syncope immediately after the first injection Patients recorded details of each attack and the response to treatment in a diary card. A total of 64 attacks in 30 patients were finally 'mcluded to evaluate the efficacy of treatment. Sumatriptan was very effective at relieving acute migraine attacks of various severity and the associated symptoms (nausea, vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia). Within two and a half hours after injection, 97% (62/64) showed a significant improvement of symptoms from moderate/severe at baseline to mild/none after treatment. There is no significant statistical difference of response of treatment about each type of migraine (classic migraine vs common migraine, chisquare test, ;? = 3. 84, p = 0. 650). Adverse events occurred 46% (30/65) of attacks. These were usually mild and transient, the most common being chest discomfort, pain at site of injection, nausea/vomiting, neck pain/stiffness, dizziness, sensation of weakness and tingling. In conclusion, sumatriptan taken by subcutaneous injection using an automjector was highly effective, fast acting and well tolerated in the treatment of acute migraine.

MeSH Terms

Dizziness
Humans
Injections, Subcutaneous
Migraine Disorders*
Migraine without Aura
Neck
Photophobia
Sensation
Serotonin
Sumatriptan*
Syncope
Thorax
Vomiting
Serotonin
Sumatriptan