Taking erenumab and other migraine drugs based on monoclonal antibodies that block pain receptors may reduce the risk of developing glaucoma by 25%, according to US physicians. The finding suggests possible shared mechanisms between migraine and glaucoma, the researchers said. The study and its results were announced by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) press office.
“Glaucoma and migraine share the feature that the development of the disease is accompanied by disruptions in the blood vessels supplying the brain,” said Wen Jianxiang, an assistant professor at Brown University. “We therefore hoped that migraine drugs, which suppress inflammation in the nervous system and improve its blood supply, would also improve eye health in patients at high risk of glaucoma.”
To test this hypothesis, the researchers conducted a clinical study involving nearly 37,000 patients suffering from severe forms of migraine. The patients were taking various drugs – some suppressed pain receptors, while others dilated blood vessels or affected the nervous system through different mechanisms.
To assess the effect of these drugs on glaucoma development, the researchers divided patients into groups according to the medications they were taking and compared how often optic nerve atrophy developed. The analysis showed that glaucoma occurred 25% less frequently in migraine patients taking erenumab and other monoclonal antibody drugs that block pain receptors. This effect was not seen with other drugs that target the same pain receptors but suppress them using small molecules rather than antibodies.