The CGRP monoclonal antibody Erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab reduced number of migraine days. CGRP monoclonal antibodies were found to be effective as well as safe for preventive treatment of episodic migraine. Although, whether it can improve the quality of life for patients with migraine may be more crucial and is still unknown.

This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) for episodic migraine prevention.

The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to April 2018. The eligible studies were randomized controlled trials about the efficacy and safety of calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibody for episodic migraine prevention.

Eight randomized controlled trials involving a total of 2292 patients were considered. The outcomes of this meta-analysis depicted that CGRP monoclonal antibodies significantly reduced the monthly migraine days and monthly acute migraine-specific medication consumption from baseline, as compared to the placebo group. CGRP monoclonal antibodies for the preventive treatment of an episodic migraine significantly increased the ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in migraine days per month. Both the CGRP monoclonal antibody and the placebo group had similar adverse events. The outcomes of subgroup analysis revealed that erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab significantly decreased monthly migraine days from baseline and increased the ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in migraine days monthly. Both the erenumab and fremanezumab significantly reduced from baseline.

According to the results of this meta-analysis, CGRP monoclonal antibodies significantly decreased monthly migraine days and acute migraine-specific medication. CGRP monoclonal antibodies were proved to be effective and safe for preventive treatment of episodic migraine.