• Ivan Urits, Mark R Jones, Kyle Gress, Karina Charipova, Jacob Fiocchi, Alan D Kaye, and Omar Viswanath.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. iurits@bidmc.harvard.edu.
• Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2019 Mar 14; 23 (5): 29.

Purpose Of ReviewThe purpose of the following review is to summarize the most recent understanding of migraine pathophysiology, as well as of basic and clinical science pharmacologic literature regarding the development of calcitonin gene receptor peptide (CGRP) antagonists as a novel therapeutic modality for the treatment of migraine headaches. A review is provided of erenumab, the first of its class FDA approved CGRP antagonist.Recent FindingsDespite its high prevalence, the occurrence and treatment of migraine headaches is poorly understood. Erenumab and CGRP antagonists as a whole significantly reduce the average number of migraine days experienced in migraine sufferers. CGRP antagonists appear to significantly improve treatment outcomes in patients who suffer from episodic and chronic migraines. Erenumab is the first CGRP antagonist to be FDA approved for public use; however, further development of biologics in this class is underway.

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