Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34374086›Full record

Trial reportHeadache2021

Improvements in quality of life and work productivity with up to 6 months of fremanezumab treatment in patients with episodic and chronic migraine and documented inadequate response to 2 to 4 classes of migraine-preventive medications in the phase 3b FOCUS study.

Egilius L H Spierings, Xiaoping Ning, Verena Ramirez Campos, Joshua M Cohen, Steve Barash, Dawn C Buse

Open access · hybridAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Headache, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Efficacy and safety of CGRP monoclonal antibodies in chronic migraine: a systematic review integrating randomized and real-world evidence.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Egilius L H SpieringsBoston Headache Institute & MedVadis Research Corporation, Waltham, MA, USA.
Xiaoping NingTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Verena Ramirez CamposTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Joshua M CohenTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Steve BarashTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Dawn C BuseDepartment of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Teva Pharmaceuticals (United States) · USAlbert Einstein College of Medicine · USMedVadis Research · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMigraine is associated with depression as well as negative impact on quality of life and work productivity. Fremanezumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG2Δa), selectively targets the calcitonin gene-related peptide and has proven efficacy for the preventive treatment of migraine.

objectiveIn this open-label extension (OLE) of the phase 3b FOCUS study, we assessed patient-reported outcomes (PROs) over time.

methodsPatients with episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM) completing the 12-week, double-blind (DB) period of the FOCUS trial entered the 12-week OLE and received three monthly doses of fremanezumab (225 mg). PROs included the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life (MSQoL) questionnaire (role function-restrictive [RFR], role function-preventive [RFP], and emotional function [EF] domains), EuroQol-5-Dimension-5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) assessment, Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire, and 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

resultsA total of 838 patients were randomized in the DB period, 807 entered the OLE at 3 months, and 772 were still enrolled at 6 months. At 6 months, patients in the quarterly fremanezumab, monthly fremanezumab, and placebo DB randomization groups, respectively, reported improvements in RFR (mean [standard deviation] change from baseline: 24.6 [21.9]; 22.9 [21.3]; 20.8 [26.5]), RFP (19.6 [20.0]; 18.3 [19.7]; 16.0 [19.9]), and EF (22.5 [24.2]; 19.1 [23.6]; 17.2 [24.7]) domains of the MSQoL questionnaire, the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire (8.0 [19.6]; 7.3 [21.1]; 6.6 [21.0]), all four domains of the WPAI questionnaire, and the PHQ-9 (-2.4 [5.3]; -1.6 [5.5]; -2.0 [4.9]); 77.1% (209/271), 75.4% (205/272), and 68.8% (181/263) of patients were identified as PGIC responders.

conclusionAmong patients with EM or CM and prior inadequate response to multiple migraine-preventive medication classes, progressive improvements in MSQoL, depression, and work productivity were achieved during 6 months of fremanezumab treatment.

Indexed as

Patient Reported Outcome MeasuresQuality of LifeAdultAntibodies, MonoclonalCalcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor AntagonistsChronic DiseaseEfficiencyFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedMigraine DisordersAntibodies, MonoclonalCalcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonistsfremanezumabcalcitonin gene-related peptidemigraineMigraine-Specific Quality of Lifemonoclonal antibodyWork Productivity and Activity Impairment

Identifiers

PMID34374086
PMCPMC8597120
OpenAlexW3190196801

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.