Update on future headache treatments

Headache disorders are common and heterogenous neurologic entities. The complexities of management are further encumbered by the relatively few effective choices for acute and preventive therapies available to the headache specialist to treat these diverse disorders. As advances have been made in uncovering headache pathophysiology, new therapies have surfaced and others are forthcoming. This article will highlight new lines of care in development. There are several novel delivery mechanisms of familiar medications which bypass the limitations of current delivery systems, including the sumatriptan iontophoretic patch Zecuity, the intranasal sumatriptan Opti-Nose system, the zolmitriptan Rapidfilm orally dissolvable film and the orally inhaled dihydroergotamine Levadex system. New lines of care based upon recently discovered therapeutic targets will also be discussed including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists, serotonin receptor agonists, and sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) intermittent stimulation. Finally, emerging targets for future therapeutics will be explored including transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV1) receptor modulators, nitric oxide (NO) antagonists, gap junction modulators, glutamate receptor antagonists, orexin receptor antagonists and prostanoid receptor antagonists. Therapies developing over the next several years will be welcome additions to the headache specialist's armamentarium.