SAN FRANCISCO -- With one calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitor now approved for migraine prevention and a series of others in the pipeline, these agents will occupy much of the spotlight at the , held here starting Thursday.
This is especially true for the Saturday morning session devoted to "industry-submitted abstract" presentations, where 12 of the 14 scheduled talks are on studies with biologic or small-molecule CGRP inhibitors. Other presentations on current and future drugs in this class, which acts on the vascular system to reduce the frequency of acute migraine attacks, are scattered among most of the other oral abstract sessions as well.
One of the meeting's plenary sessions will address "Therapeutic Targets of the Future," with presentations on hypothalamic involvement in headache disorders, "the cycling brain," and potential targets in the peripheral nervous system.
However, other types of treatment aren't neglected on the agenda. New research on triptans, vagal nerve stimulation, and transcranial magnetic stimulation will be presented, as will many studies of migraine triggers and the burdens on patients and families resulting from headache disorders.
One especially interesting presentation will cover new results from the , which has sought information from thousands of migraineurs on headache frequency, related disability, treatments, treatment satisfaction, and resource use. Another has the intriguing title "Interest and Demand for Non-Opioid, Non-Drug Treatment Options for Migraine."
Aside from research reports, the meeting formally opens Thursday afternoon with a symposium honoring , of the University of California San Francisco. Raskin authored numerous landmark papers on the origins of headache pain. Speakers include his UCSF colleagues ; ; and .
Other highlights include a pro-con debate Saturday on whether migraine patients should always try to avoid putative triggers, and Sunday's plenary comparing and contrasting chronic migraine versus chronic non-headache pain.
Last but not least, AHS 2018 includes a number of "premeeting" events on Wednesday and Thursday. Among them is one that takes off on recent studies indicating that medicine's pay-and-promotion gender gap stems, at least in part, from women's supposed tendency to be less aggressive in negotiations with employers. A 50-minute session aimed at women Wednesday afternoon will offer "tips for contracts, salaries, and anything else."