Long-term Atogepant for Treatment-resistant Migraine in Real-world Clinical Practice: 12-month Result

Preventive migraine therapies targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway have transformed clinical practice, particularly monoclonal antibodies and, more recently, gepants. Atogepant, an oral CGRP receptor antagonist, has demonstrated efficacy and safety in randomized controlled trials and extensions across episodic, chronic, and treatment-refractory migraine populations. However, these studies are based on highly selected cohorts with limited external validity. In routine clinical practice, patients present with high disease burden, multiple preventive treatment failures, prior exposure to CGRP-targeted therapies, medication overuse, and psychiatric comorbidities, all of which may influence outcomes. Although short- and mid-term real-world data support clinically meaningful benefit within 3-6 months, evidence beyond this period remains limited, particularly regarding long-term effectiveness, tolerability, and treatment persistence, as well as sustained, delayed, or transient response trajectories.

This prospective multicentre observational study was conducted within the GEMA (GEpants in MigrAine-Atogepant) Project across 15 tertiary Headache Units in Spain. Adults with migraine initiating atogepant in routine clinical practice were consecutively enrolled between June 2024 and March 2025 and followed for 12 months. Data were collected at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months using standardized REDCap case report forms through structured interviews. Variables included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, migraine phenotype, disease duration, prior preventive treatment failures, concomitant preventive therapies, monthly headache days (MHD), monthly migraine days (MMD), analgesic overuse, adverse events, and treatment discontinuation. Definitions were based on ICHD-3 criteria. In a subset, patient-reported outcomes were assessed using validated instruments: Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Analyses were performed using both all-available-observation and complete-case approaches, without imputation of missing outcome data.