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DG DISPATCH - HEADACHE: Sumatriptan Non-Responders Often Have Other Personality Disorders By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News BARCELONA, SPAIN -- June 25, 1999 -- Patients who don’t respond to the drug Imitrex (sumatriptan, Glaxo-Wellcome) for their migraine headaches seem to show distinct physiological, psychiatric and psychological differences from those who do respond to the drug, a researcher reported at the 9th International Headache Society meeting, in Barcelona, Spain. The study, conducted by Dr. Werner Becker and colleagues at the University of Calgary Headaches Clinic, involved 49 people who did respond to sumatriptan and 25 who did not. Women outnumbered men by approximately six to one. The participants completed a headache questionnaire as well as a personality inventory and a diagnostic interview. While women who experienced menstrual migraines were more likely to be controls - that is to say they responded to sumatriptan - those who did not respond were more likely to suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. There was no history of drug, alcohol or other substance abuse between the groups, but when the subjects were evaluated for 16 points on the personality inventory, significant differences emerged. Non-responders, for example, were deemed to be more impatient, self-disciplined and loners than controls. Dr. Werner Becker speculated that this diffirence could indicate that biological differences account for the personality variations and the fact that one group responds to treatment for their migraines, while the other does not. The biological difference, he maintains, may be manifested in non-responders in several ways including the fact that they are less prone to menstrual migraines but more likely to suffer from anxiety disorder. Their personality characteristics may lead them to be described as "unconventional, detached, solitary and compulsive, and driven", Dr. Becker said. Related Links: Imitrex, Glaxo-Wellcome E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version