New anti-migraine drugs: Present and beyond the millennium

A fast growing new class of anti-migraine drugs has recently been introduced for the acute treatment of migraine: the serotonin (5-HT)(1B/D)-agonists. Since the introduction of its first representative, sumatriptan, in 1993, several new compounds of this class have been or are about to be approved. The following review introduces this class of compounds and focuses on indications, differences, advantages and disadvantages of each member. It further discusses new indications of established drugs for the use in migraine, including prophylaxis. For the use of analgesics and ergotamine, the reader is referred to recent reviews.(1-3).