Liraglutide could reduce monthly migraine days

Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist used to treat diabetes, appears to reduce monthly migraine days by more than half, researchers reported on June 20, 2025 at the annual European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 25.

As background to the study the investigators said, “Emerging evidence suggests that even slightly elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) can exacerbate migraine by reducing intracranial compliance and increasing trigeminal pathway sensitization. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, which lower cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production, have shown success in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) by reducing ICP and improving headache frequency. Therefore, this study investigates GLP-1R agonists as a potential promising approach to alleviating migraine.”

For this pilot study, the researchers enrolled 26 obese migraine subjects (BMI ≥30).  They treated the subjects with liraglutide 1.2 mg daily for 12weeks.

They excluded patients with papilledema to rule out idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

They tracked mean monthly headache days. The primary outcome was the change in headache days after 12weeks.

They reported that mean monthly headache days decreased from 20.04 to 8.81, a statistically significant difference (p<0.001), while Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores dropped from 62.58 to 27.23 a statistically significant mean difference of 35.35 (p<0.001).

BMI decline from 34.01 to 33.65 was not significant (p=0.060).

“Most patients felt better within the first two weeks and reported quality of life improved significantly”, said lead researcher Simone Braca,MD, a neurology resident and clinical research fellow at the Headache Centre of the University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy. “The benefit lasted for the full three-month observation period, even though weight loss was modest and statistically non-significant.”

The authors concluded, “GLP-1R agonists appear to effectively reduce migraine burden regardless of weight loss, highlighting a possible pathophysiological role of CSF volume and pressure regulation in migraine. Further, larger studies are warranted to confirm these findings.”