Zolmitriptan, a novel serotonin (5-HT)1B/1Dreceptor antagonist developed for the acute treatment of migraine, is proving to have consistent efficacy across a range of migraine types. Zolmitriptan was developed to improve on the low bioavailability of sumatriptan. Sumatriptan was the first triptan to become available for patients with migraine and is considered to be the gold standard treatment. Preclinical studies with zolmitriptan indicate that the agent has a novel dual mechanism of action, having effects at both central (trigeminal nucleus caudalis) and peripheral (trigeminovascular system) targets. A number of new clinical studies demonstrating the value of this antimigraine agent were presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology [Minneapolis, US; May 1998].