Dihydroergotamine: a review of its use in the treatment of migraine and other headaches.

Dihydroergotamine has been one of the main drugs used in the treatment of migraine for greater than 40 years. The recent introduction of the more selective 5-HT antagonist sumatriptan will challenge the place of dihydroergotamine in migraine therapy and indicates the need to review the evidence for the use of dihydroergotamine. Although there is little evidence from double-blind clinical trials, dihydroergotamine does appear to be effective in the treatment of acute attacks and in the prevention of migraine. Its place in treatment is in cases where simple analgesics alone or in combination with other agents fail to provide relief. Further studies are necessary to compare dihydroergotamine with sumatriptan for acute migraine and with beta-blockers in prophylaxis to determine its future role in migraine therapy.