METHODS OF TREATING MIGRAINE

1 . A method of treating cephalic pain, comprising:

selecting a patient suffering from or susceptible to cephalic pain, who is identified as being susceptible to a need for rescue medication and/or more than one dose of abortive medication following onset of the cephalic pain; and

administering intranasally a composition comprising sumatriptan, or a physiologically-acceptable salt or a solvate thereof, and an alkyl glycoside or a saccharide alkyl ester.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition further includes at least one pharmaceutically-acceptable excipient.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration to said patient, provides at least one of the following clinical endpoints:

(a) pain freedom in at least about 35% patient population at 2 hours post-dose;

(b) pain relief in at least about 70% patient population at 2 hours post-dose;

(c) sustained pain freedom in at least about 33% patient population from 2 to 24 hours post-dose; and

(d) freedom from functional disability in at least about 45% patient population at 2 hours post-dose.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises sumatriptan in an amount of about 2.5 mg to about 25 mg of sumatriptan base.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alkyl glycoside or saccharide alkyl ester is present in an amount of from about 0.05% to about 3.0%.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein said alkyl glycoside or saccharide alkyl ester is selected from the group consisting of: dodecyl maltoside (1-O-n-dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside), tridecyl maltoside, sucrose monododecanoate, sucrose monotridecanoate, and sucrose monotetradecanoate.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said salt of sumatriptan is selected from group consisting of: sulphate salt, citrate salt, phosphate salt, maleate salt, formate salt, and acetate salt.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration, provides absence of nausea in at least about 65% of patients at 2 hours post-dose.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration, provides an absence of photophobia in at least about 60% of patients at 2 hours post-dose.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration, provides an absence of phonophobia in at least about 65% patient population at 2 hours post-dose.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration, provides treatment satisfaction in at least about 60% of patients at 2 hours post-dose.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition is in the form of a solution, suspension, emulsion, aerosol, or powder.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cephalic pain is migraine.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the patient is susceptible to the need for rescue medication, and such need is reduced by at least about 50%.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said rescue medication is selected from group comprising opioids, acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, rizatriptan, naratriptan, zolmitriptan, eletripan, almotriptan or dihydroergotamine.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition provides a T max value less than or equal to about 30 minutes.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said composition, upon intranasal administration, provides a T max substantially equivalent to that of a subcutaneous sumatriptan injection comprising 4 mg or 6 mg sumatriptan base.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the patient is susceptible to the need for more than one dose of abortive medication, wherein the abortive medication is migraine medication, and wherein the need for a second dose of migraine medication is reduced by at least about 30%.

19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the cephalic pain is migraine, cluster headache, episodic migraine, or rapid escalating migraine.