Rizatriptan in the treatment of migraine

Migraine is a common, disabling disorder associated with considerable personal and societal burden. Current guidelines recommend triptans for the acute treatment of migraine unlikely to respond to less effective therapies. Rizatriptan is a second-generation triptan available in tablet or orally disintegrating tablet (wafer) formulations that offers several advantages over other members of its class. Rizatriptan is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and achieves maximum plasma concentrations more quickly than other triptans, providing rapid pain relief. Clinical trials have shown that rizatriptan is at least as effective or superior to other oral migraine-specifi c agents in the acute treatment of migraine, and has more consistent long-term effi cacy across multiple migraine attacks. Rizatriptan has a favorable tolerability profi le, and patients have reported greater satisfaction and a preference for rizatriptan over other migraine-specifi c agents. Improvements in quality of life reported with rizatriptan are consistent with its favorable effi cacy and tolerability profi les. Notably, multi-attribute decision models that combine clinical data with patient- and physician-reported treatment preferences have identifi ed rizatriptan as one of three triptans closest to a hypothetical ideal. The effi cacy and tolerability of rizatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine have thus been well established.