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Molecular Mechanisms of 5-HT1F Receptor Agonists

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Novel Synthetic Drugs in Migraine

Part of the book series: Headache ((HEAD))

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Abstract

Serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine, 5-HT) and its receptors have been long involved in migraine and its treatment. The first evidence of a serotonin role in migraine pathophysiology and its possible exploitation for therapeutic purposes dates more than 50 years ago. In the last decades, pharmacological research in the field searched for an increased selectivity of active principles to specific receptor subtypes involved in migraine mechanism. Currently, the 5-HT1F receptor agonists, also known as ditans, represent the most innovative class of the drugs targeting the serotoninergic system to treat migraine. Updated evidence suggests that ditans exert their antimigraine effects by modulating the trigeminovascular system, while devoid of cardiovascular safety drawbacks shared by previous antimigraine drugs targeting 5-HT receptors, namely ergot-derivatives and triptans.

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  1. Headache Centre, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy

    Silvia Benemei

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  1. Silvia Benemei
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Correspondence to Silvia Benemei .

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  1. Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Martelletti

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Lars Edvinsson

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Benemei, S. (2022). Molecular Mechanisms of 5-HT1F Receptor Agonists. In: Martelletti, P., Edvinsson, L. (eds) Novel Synthetic Drugs in Migraine. Headache. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95334-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95334-8_7

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