Migraine sufferers rejoice: New drug brings hope for cure

By Alice Clifford via SWNS

A new drug could help prevent migraines for those in dire need of help, according to a new study.

While some people can treat their migraines with drugs already available, many others have found these medicines ineffective.

Now a new drug called atogepant could be the solution.

People who took atogepant found they had four fewer migraine days each month.

They also discovered that they didn’t have to take the medication as often as those taking a placebo to stop migraine attacks.

Study author Dr. Patricia Pozo-Rosich, of Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, said: “These results are exciting, as migraine can be debilitating, and this treatment led to fewer days with migraine for people who had already tried up to four other types of drugs to prevent migraine and either had no improvement or had side effects that outweighed any benefits.”

Atogepant is a calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist or CGRP inhibitor.
CGRP is a protein that plays a key role in starting the migraine process.

A migraine is often a moderate or severe headache felt on one side of the head. People can also feel nauseous and become more sensitive to light or sound.

According to the NHS, migraines affect “around one in every five women and around one in every fifteen men”.

The research involved 309 people who had at least four migraine days during the month before the study.

Each participant had tried at least two classes of drugs for preventing migraine without improvement.

Of those, 44 percent had previously taken three or more classes of preventive drugs with no success.

For the study, half the participants took 60 milligrams of atogepant once a day as a pill and the other half took a placebo for 12 weeks.

After taking the drug people had an average of four fewer days with migraine per month, while those taking the placebo only had around two fewer days.

However, the drug may not be perfect as it comes with a few side effects.

One of the most common ones is constipation, which occurred in ten percent of those taking atogepant and three percent of those taking the placebo.

Nausea was also common, with seven percent of those taking the drug suffering from sickness. Only three percent of those taking the placebo felt the same.

Dr. Pozo-Rosich said: “People who thought they may not find a way to prevent and treat their migraines may have hope of finding relief with a tolerable oral easy-to-use drug.

“This treatment was safe, well-tolerated and effective for people with difficult-to-treat migraine.”

The study is due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Boston later this month.