Small-molecule CGRP receptor antagonists may pose a risk during stroke

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CGRP receptor antagonists to treat migraine don’t boost stroke risk, but they could worsen stroke outcomes, according to a new animal study.

“It turns out that these drugs make the blood vessels of the brain dysfunctional, such that the collateral channels that bring in blood to the region that is having the stroke are impaired,” explains the study’s lead author, Cenk Ayata, MD, associate professor of neurology and radiology at Harvard Medical School, Boston.

In an interview, Alan M. Rapoport, MD, clinical professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, talks with Dr. Ayata about his study findings, and about CGRP receptor antagonists’ potential effects if a patient has an ischemic event.

This article was updated 4/21/20.

trudd@mdedge.com