Rizatriptan reduces vestibular-induced motion sickness in migraineurs.
Author(s): Furman JM, Marcus DA, Balaban CD.
Affiliation(s): Department of Otolaryngology, Eye and Ear Institute, University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine, 203 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
furmanjm@upmc.edu
Publication date & source: 2011, J Headache Pain. , 12(1):81-8
A previous pilot study suggested that rizatriptan reduces motion sickness induced
by complex vestibular stimulation. In this double-blind, randomized,
placebo-controlled study we measured motion sickness in response to a complex
vestibular stimulus following pretreatment with either rizatriptan or a placebo.
Subjects included 25 migraineurs with or without migraine-related dizziness (23
females) aged 21-45 years (31.0 ± 7.8 years). Motion sickness was induced by
off-vertical axis rotation in darkness, which stimulates both the semicircular
canals and otolith organs of the vestibular apparatus. Results indicated that of
the 15 subjects who experienced vestibular-induced motion sickness when
pretreated with placebo, 13 showed a decrease in motion sickness following
pretreatment with rizatriptan as compared to pretreatment with placebo (P <
0.02). This significant effect was not seen when subjects were exposed to more
provocative vestibular stimulation. We conclude that the serotonin agonist,
rizatriptan, reduces vestibular-induced motion sickness by influencing
serotonergic vestibular-autonomic projections.
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