(37) In both cases, the medications were efficacious: onset of relief with
zolmitriptan occurred within 45 minutes vs 35 minutes for rizatriptan.
Even more compelling evidence was provided by the second part of the study, in which patients were allowed to use
zolmitriptan to treat headaches of any intensity in open-label fashion for a full year.
A comparative trial of
zolmitriptan and sumatriptan for the acute oral treatment of migraine.
"If a patient can tolerate the triptans and wants fast onset of action with oral dosing, then
zolmitriptan and rizatriptan would be the first choices," Dr.
Those occurring less than 2% (asthenia, nausea, dizziness, paresthesias, and somnolence) were mild to moderate in severity and likely associated with
zolmitriptan use.
By these criteria, rizatriptan was 26% more effective than
zolmitriptan, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.075), Dr.
* STUDY DESIGN AND VALIDITY This randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled crossover study compared 5-mg and 10-mg doses of
zolmitriptan with placebo for the acute treatment of cluster headaches.
Poster Title: Concomitant Use of Serotonergic Drugs with
Zolmitriptan in a One-year Safety Trial
Table 1 Medications associated with serotonin syndrome Class Medication(s) Antidepressants Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants Monoamine oxidase inhibitors Trazodone Mirtazapine Triptans Almotriptan, eletriptan, frovatriptan, naratriptan, rizatriptan, sumatriptan,
zolmitriptan Anxiolytics Buspirone Antiemetics Ondansetron, granisetron, metoclopramide Herbal supplements St.
Oral almotriptan and
zolmitriptan are also approved for use in children 12 to 17 years of age.
Serotonergic effects and extracellular brain levels of eletriptan,
zolmitriptan and sumatriptan in rat brain.
There are no human pregnancy data for
zolmitriptan (Zomig; Zomig-ZMT), but as with all triptans, there is a possible risk of preterm birth.