Frovatriptan: a review.

Frovatriptan is a potent 5-HT(1B/1D) receptor agonist and has the highest 5-HT(1B) potency in the triptan class. preclinical pharmacology studies demonstrated that frovatriptan is apparently cerebro-selective. In clinical pharmacology studies, frovatriptan was shown to have a long-terminal elimination half-life of 26 h and to be well-tolerated across a broad dose range of 1-100 mg. Frovatriptan has no inhibiting or inducing effects on cytochrome P450 isoenzymes and is only slightly bound to plasma proteins; thus it has a low potential for drug interactions. No dosage adjustments are necessary based on age or renal or hepatic impairment. Efficacy studies show significantly higher response rates compared with placebo and the lowest reported range of headache recurrence rates in the triptan class. Safety studies show a side effect profile similar to placebo. The combination of cerebro-selectivity, long half-life, reliable efficacy, low recurrence rates and good tolerability make frovatriptan a valuable new choice for acute treatment of migraine. Frovatriptan may be particularly well suited to patients with migraine of long duration, those prone to recurrence and those troubled by "triptan-type" side effects.