Indeed, the development of sumatriptan and second generation triptans in the 1990's led to discover that these drugs produce selective cranial extracerebral vasoconstriction (via 5-HT1B receptors) and inhibition of the trigeminovascular system responses implicated in migraine (via 5-HT1D/5-HT1F receptors).
Inasmuch as one recent report found that mRNA encoding only the 5-HT1D beta receptor subtype was expressed by vascular smooth muscle of the central nervous system, the present findings suggest the importance of developing selective 5-HT1D alpha receptor agonists as a strategy to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and possibly stroke that complicates the acute treatment of migraine headache.