Brand Name: Migrostop 12.5mg Tablet
Active Ingredient: Almotriptan Maleate
When is Migrostop Tablet prescribed for?
Acute treatment of the headache phase of migraine attacks with or without aura.
How should you take Migrostop Tablet?
- Migrostop should be taken with liquids as early as possible after the onset of migraine-associated headache but it is also effective when taken at a later stage.
- Almotriptan should not be used for migraine prophylaxis.
- The tablets can be taken with or without food.
Adults (18-65 years of age) and adolescents (12-17 years of age)
The recommended dose of Migrostop in adults and adolescents age 12 to 17 years is 6.25 mg to 12.5 mg, with the 12.5 mg dose tending to be a more effective dose in adults. A second dose may be taken if the symptoms reappear within 24 hours. This second dose may be taken provided that there is a minimum interval of two hours between the two doses.
The efficacy of a second dose for the treatment of the same attack when an initial dose is ineffective has not been examined in controlled trials.
Therefore if a patient does not respond to the first dose, a second dose should not be taken for the same attack.
The maximum recommended dose is two doses in 24 hours.
Children (under 12 years of age)
There are no data concerning the use of almotriptan in children, therefore its use in this age group is not recommended.
Elderly (over 65 years of age)
No dosage adjustment is required in the elderly. The safety and effectiveness of almotriptan in patients older than 65 years has not been systematically evaluated.
Renal Impairment
Dosage adjustment is not required in patients with mild or moderate renal impairment. Patients with severe renal impairment should take no more than one 12.5 mg tablet in a 24 hour period.
Hepatic Impairment
There are no data concerning the use of almotriptan in patients with hepatic impairment
When you should not take Migrostop Tablet?
- Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients
- As with other 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists, almotriptan should not be used in patients with a history, symptoms or signs of ischaemic heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, documented silent ischaemia, Prinzmetal's angina) or severe hypertension and uncontrolled mild or moderate hypertension.
- Patients with a previous cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
- Peripheral vascular disease.
- Concomitant administration with ergotamine, ergotamine derivatives (including methysergide) and other 5-HT1B/1D agonists is contraindicated.
- Patients with severe hepatic impairment
Possible Drug interaction with Migrostop Tablet:
Interaction studies were performed with monoamine oxidase A inhibitors, beta-blockers, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, calcium channel blockers or inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 isoenzymes 3A4 and 2D6. There are no in vivo interaction studies assessing the effect of almotriptan on other drugs.
- As with other 5-HT1 agonists, the potential risk of a serotoninergic syndrome due to a pharmacodynamic interaction in case of concomitant treatment with MAOIs cannot be ruled out.
- As with other 5-HT1 agonists the potential risk of a serotoninergic syndrome due to a pharmacodynamic interaction in case of concomitant treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors cannot be ruled out.
- Multiple dosing with the calcium channel blocker verapamil, a substrate of CYP3A4, resulted in a 20% increase in Cmax and AUC of almotriptan. The increase is not considered clinically relevant. No clinically significant interactions were observed.
- Multiple dosing with propranolol did not alter the pharmacokinetics of almotriptan. No clinically significant interactions were observed.
In vitro studies performed to evaluate the ability of almotriptan to inhibit the major CYP enzymes in human liver microsomes and human monoamine oxidase (MAO) showed that almotriptan would not be expected to alter the metabolism of drugs metabolized by CYP or MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes.
Special Warning and Precaution when using MigrostopTablet:
Almotriptan should only be used where there is a clear diagnosis of migraine. It should not be used to treat basilar, hemiplegic or ophthalmoplegic migraine.
As with other acute migraine therapies, before treating headaches in patients not previously diagnosed as migraine sufferers and in migraine sufferers who present atypical symptoms, care should be taken to exclude other potentially serious neurological conditions. Cerebrovascular accidents have been reported in patients treated with 5-HT1B/1D agonists. It should be noted that migraineurs may be at increased risk of certain cerebrovascular events (e.g. cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack).
In very rare cases, as with other 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists, coronary vasospasm and myocardial infarction have been reported. Therefore almotriptan should not be administered to patients who could have an undiagnosed coronary condition without prior evaluation of potential underlying cardiovascular disease. Such patients include postmenopausal women, males over 40 and patients with other risk factors for coronary disease such as uncontrolled hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, diabetes, smoking or a clear family history of cardiovascular disease. These evaluations however, may not identify every patient who has cardiac disease and in very rare case, serious cardiac events have occurred in patients without underlying cardiovascular disease when 5-HT1 agonists have been administered.
Following administration, almotriptan can be associated with transient symptoms including chest pain and tightness which may be intense and involve the throat. Where such symptoms are thought to indicate ischaemic heart disease, no further dose should be taken and appropriate evaluation should be carried out.
Caution should be exercised when prescribing almotriptan to patients with known hypersensitivity to sulphonamides.
It is advised to wait at least 6 hours following use of almotriptan before administering ergotamine. At least 24 hours should elapse after the administration of an ergotamine-containing preparation before almotriptan is given. Although additive vasospastic effects were not observed in a clinical trial in which 12 healthy subjects received oral almotriptan and ergotamine, such additive effects are theoretically possible.
Patients with severe renal impairment should not take more than one 12.5 mg tablet in a 24 hour period.
Caution is recommended in patients with mild to moderate hepatic disease and treatment is contraindicated in patients with severe hepatic disease.
Undesirable effects may be more common during concomitant use of triptans and herbal preparations containing St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum).
As with other 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists, almotriptan may cause mild, transient increases in blood pressure, which may be more pronounced in the elderly.
Excessive use of an anti-migraine medicinal product can lead to daily chronic headache requiring a therapeutic window
The maximum recommended dose of almotriptan should not be exceeded.
Special information if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Pregnancy
For almotriptan, very limited data on pregnant patients are available. Animal studies do not indicate direct or indirect harmful effects with respect to pregnancy, embryonal/foetal development, parturition or postnatal development. Caution should be exercised when prescribing almotriptan to pregnant women.
Lactation
There is no data regarding excretion of almotriptan in human milk. Studies in rats have shown that almotriptan and/or its metabolites are excreted in milk.
Caution should therefore be exercised when prescribing during lactation. Infant exposure may be minimized by avoiding breast feeding for 24 hours after treatment.
Possible Side Effects of Migrostop Tablet:
The most common adverse reactions at the therapeutic dose were dizziness, somnolence, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
None of the adverse reactions had an incidence superior to 1.5%.