Question:easy
All of the following agents are used for prophylaxis of migraine, except:
All of the following agents are used for prophylaxis of migraine, except:
Show Hint
One option is purely an absence-seizure drug.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Propranolol
- Valproate
- Topiramate
- Ethosuximide
Show Solution
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Think of migraine prevention as a small toolkit shared with cardiology and epilepsy. The classic prophylactics are beta blockers, certain antiepileptics, tricyclics, and calcium channel blockers.
Propranolol heads the beta-blocker group and is often the first drug a clinician reaches for, so it belongs. Among antiepileptics, both valproate and topiramate carry strong evidence for cutting attack frequency, so they belong too.
Ethosuximide is the odd one out. Its single, narrow indication is the absence seizure, where it silences thalamic T-type calcium channels. It does nothing for the trigeminovascular mechanism of migraine and is never listed as a preventive agent.
So three antiepileptic/beta-blocker drugs are valid migraine preventives and only the absence-seizure drug is not.
\[\boxed{\text{Ethosuximide}}\]
Propranolol heads the beta-blocker group and is often the first drug a clinician reaches for, so it belongs. Among antiepileptics, both valproate and topiramate carry strong evidence for cutting attack frequency, so they belong too.
Ethosuximide is the odd one out. Its single, narrow indication is the absence seizure, where it silences thalamic T-type calcium channels. It does nothing for the trigeminovascular mechanism of migraine and is never listed as a preventive agent.
So three antiepileptic/beta-blocker drugs are valid migraine preventives and only the absence-seizure drug is not.
\[\boxed{\text{Ethosuximide}}\]
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