Abstract
Background: Recently, antimigraine drugs targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway have been approved for clinical use as preventive migraine medication. Case report: We present a case of a 54-year-old male migraine patient, who reported erectile dysfunction as a possible side effect of treatment with galcanezumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide. His potency recovered after treatment discontinuation. Discussion: As calcitonin gene-related peptide is involved in mammalian penile erection, erectile dysfunction is a conceivable side effect associated with calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibition. Postmarketing surveillance will elucidate the actual incidence of erectile dysfunction in patients using these new antimigraine drugs, and determine whether a causal relationship between calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibition and erectile dysfunction exists. This would be relevant not only because of the direct sexual consequences of erectile dysfunction, but also considering the potential cardiovascular consequences of calcitonin gene-related peptide (receptor) blockade and the association of both migraine and erectile dysfunction with cardiovascular disease. Conclusion: Erectile dysfunction might be an overlooked, but reversible side effect in male migraine patients using monoclonal antibodies that inhibit the calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway, including galcanezumab. This paper may raise clinical awareness and suggest that this potential side effect needs to be studied further.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 257-261 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Cephalalgia |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Antoinette MaassenVanDenBrink was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO, Vici Grant 09150191910040).
Funding Information:
The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Linda Al-Hassany declares that she has no conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Tessa de Vries declares that she has no conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Johannes A Carpay has received consultation fees from Eli Lilly, Novartis, Teva and Lundbeck. Antoinette MaassenVanDenBrink received research grants and/or consultation fees from Allergan, Amgen/Novartis, Eli Lilly, Teva and ATI, and was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO, Vici Grant 09150181910040).
Publisher Copyright:
© International Headache Society 2021.