Effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation and monoclonal antibodies acting on the CGRP as a combined treatment for migraine (TACTIC): Results of a randomized controlled trial

What Was Tested

Researchers studied CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) in the context of migraine in this randomized controlled trial publication.

BackgroundMigraine pathogenesis involves both central and peripheral mechanisms.

Transcranial direct current stimulation is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that can target central migraine mechanisms and may therefore complement calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Subjects were randomized to active or sham transcranial direct current stimulation.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter and parallel-group study.

Because people in this CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some participants received a placebo instead of CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide), giving a reference point.

More than one site took part, so the participants came from several places.

What Was Measured

The primary endpoint was the number of headache days during the 28-day follow-up period controlling for the 28-days baseline value.

Secondary endpoints included the number of migraine days during the follow-up period, disability measures and electroencephalographic spectral power.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Migraine Disorders, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide, Antibodies, Monoclonal and Combined Modality Therapy.

Author keywords: monoclonal antibodies, neuromodulation, refractory migraine and resistant migraine.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) in people with migraine.

The publication is from 2025 (Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache), a journal based in England.

More context: the CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) compound page, Migraine research.