Drugs/Therapy

New Drugs May Stop Migraines Before They Start

By Joie M Gahum | Update Date: Feb 27, 2017 07:20 AM EST

Battling migraines can consume one's life. However, with a new drug that may stop migraines, even before they start, dealing with a migraine attack becomes easier.

In an article posted in CNBC News, Dr. David Kudrow from Santa Monica, Carolina, Neurologist, reveals that a new drug may be able to block calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a molecule that spikes during a migraine attack. This drug can stop a migraine even before it starts. This drug is not a pill but an injection that can stay in the system for a long time allowing the continuous blocking of the CGRP mechanism that triggers a migraine.

Pharmaceutical trials are expected to be launched late this year or in early 2018. If the drug is approved by the FDA, it will be available for consumption in 2018. However, the price attach to this migraine blocker is as much as $10,000 a year. Using the drug also reduces the frequency and intensity of the headaches for most patients. It can also lead to a decrease in a number of other medications used by patients to handle acute headaches.

NBC News featured Lynn Kaufmann, a 63-year-old patient of Dr. Kudrow, who claims to have been consumed by a migraine all her life. The paralyzing pain she experienced started when she was 12-years-old and has worsened throughout the years.

In America alone, there are more than 35 million suffering from migraine attacks. Four million of these suffers from a chronic migraine, with headaches occurring for 10 to 14 days in a month. Migraines are mostly benign by can still be disabling. Over-the-counter medicines are usually used to treat migraines such as ibuprofen and other prescription drugs. However, these can cause dizziness.

Meanwhile, patients who were injected with the drug showed three to four fewer migraine days each month. Kaufman, who receives the injection once a month, for several months shares how her new-found relief allowed her to function socially once again. Since treated with the injectable drug, she only experienced one or two migraines in a month.

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