Migraine and glaucoma: CGRP inhibitors may also protect vision

By Elodie Vaz | Published on May 18, 2026 | 4 min read      


Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. This progressive optic neuropathy, characterized by damage to the optic nerve often linked to elevated intraocular pressure, still raises many questions about its underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Among the avenues being explored is the role of cerebral and ocular blood flow, which has already been implicated in another common neurological disorder: migraine.  

A study published on May 6, 2026 by the American Academy of Neurology in the journal Neurology now suggests that a recent class of preventive migraine treatments, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, may be associated with a reduced risk of glaucoma.  

CGRP inhibitors at the center of research  

Previous studies had already highlighted a link between migraine and glaucoma, with both conditions sharing abnormalities in the regulation of cerebral and ocular blood flow. Researchers therefore sought to determine whether CGRP inhibitors, used for migraine prevention, could influence the risk of developing glaucoma.  

“Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness, and studies have linked migraine to an increased risk of glaucoma, with both conditions affecting the ability of blood vessels in the brain to modulate blood flow in response to stimuli,” Chien-Hsiang Weng, lead author of the study, explained in a press release. “Because CGRP inhibitors help regulate blood vessel contraction and inflammation in the nervous system, there was hope that these drugs might improve eye health in people at risk of glaucoma.”

CGRP inhibitors are a recent therapeutic class that targets a neuropeptide involved in the pathophysiology of migraine. They include monoclonal antibodies — erenumab, fremanezumab, galcanezumab and eptinezumab — as well as CGRP receptor antagonists, known as “gepants,” such as atogepant and rimegepant.  

To conduct their analysis, the researchers used a healthcare database including patients who had received a new prescription for preventive migraine treatment, with at least one prescription refill. Participants were then followed for up to three years to identify new cases of glaucoma. The study compared 36,822 people treated with CGRP inhibitors with an equally sized group receiving other preventive migraine treatments. These comparators included valproate, topiramate, flunarizine, candesartan, lisinopril, metoprolol, propranolol, nadolol, amitriptyline and venlafaxine.  
The researchers also adjusted their analyses for several factors that could influence glaucoma risk, including age, migraine frequency and a history of high blood pressure.  

A 25% lower risk of glaucoma  

During follow-up, 153 patients in the CGRP inhibitor group developed glaucoma, corresponding to 0.42% of participants. In the group receiving other migraine preventive treatments, 223 cases were recorded, corresponding to 0.61% of participants.  

After statistical adjustment, the authors reported a 25% reduction in glaucoma risk among patients exposed to CGRP inhibitors compared with those receiving other preventive migraine treatments.  

A detailed analysis of the results revealed an important difference according to the molecules studied. The reduction in risk was observed only with CGRP inhibitors in the form of monoclonal antibodies.

Gepants, which are CGRP receptor antagonists, did not show a comparable effect.   These findings strengthen the hypothesis that the vascular and neuroinflammatory pathways targeted by monoclonal antibodies may play a specific role in protecting the optic nerve.  

Monoclonal antibodies stand out  

The authors nevertheless point out that this observational study does not prove a direct causal link between CGRP inhibitors and reduced glaucoma risk. It only identifies a statistical association.  

“Further studies are needed to confirm these results, but these findings may help us better understand migraine and glaucoma,” Professor Weng emphasized.

The study also has several limitations. In particular, the researchers were unable to account for family history of glaucoma or certain ophthalmological risk factors that could have influenced the results.  

These findings open up an original perspective at the interface between neurology and ophthalmology. As the vascular and inflammatory mechanisms shared by neurodegenerative diseases become better understood, treatments developed for one condition may eventually find unexpected applications in other clinical fields.  
                 

Read next: Comparative effects of different drugs for the acute management of migraine episodes in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis

About the Author – Elodie Vaz
Health journalist, CFPJ graduate (2023).
Élodie explores the marks diseases leave on bodies and, more broadly, on human life. A registered nurse since 2010, she spent twelve years at patients’ bedsides before exchanging her stethoscope for a notebook. She now investigates the links between environment and health, convinced that the vitality of life cannot be reduced to that of humans.