Key clinical point: Acupuncture showed a similar preventive treatment effect to fremanezumab in patients with episodic migraine; however, acupuncture was associated with lower adverse event rates.
Major finding: Compared with acupuncture, monthly and single-dose fremanezumab showed similar decrease in monthly migraine days (P = .473 and P = .214, respectively) and 50% responder rate (P = .17 and P = .109, respectively). The adverse event risk was lower with acupuncture (25%) vs monthly and single-dose fremanezumab (both 66%).
Study details: This study evaluated 302 patients with episodic migraine from an acupuncture trial (acupuncture n = 145; sham acupuncture n = 81; waiting-list control n = 76) and 875 patients with episodic migraine from the fremanezumab trial (monthly fremanezumab n = 290; single-dose fremanezumab n = 291; placebo n = 294).
Disclosures: This study did not declare a funding source. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Zheng H et al. Matching adjusted indirect comparison of acupuncture versus fremanezumab in the preventive treatment of episodic migraine. Curr Med Res Opin. 2023 (Feb 8). Doi: 10.1080/03007995.2023.2174746