New drug relieves acute migraine in clinical trial
People who experience acute migraine may soon find relief in a new treatment. The results of a clinical trial of a novel drug revealed that it can eliminate head pain and reduce other symptoms of migraine.
Many people with acute migraine rely on triptans, a class of drugs that have been in use since the 1990s. However, triptans do not help everyone, and some people cannot take them because of their adverse side effects.
Triptans work by activating serotonin receptors, an effect that lowers inflammation and tightens blood vessels. As they constrict blood vessels, triptans are not suitable for people with or at risk of cardiovascular conditions.
The drug in the study, rimegepant, belongs to a new generation called gepants, which work in a different way than triptans.
Gepants stop head pain by blocking the receptor for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a small protein that the body releases during migraine episodes.
A recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine describes a large phase III trial in which rimegepant performed significantly better than placebo in the treatment of acute migraine.
"For the first time in nearly 3 decades," says first study author Richard B. Lipton, a professor and vice chair of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, "people with migraine not helped by existing medications may have a new option to find relief during attacks."
Large-scale trial of novel migraine drug
People with migraine experience recurring attacks of head pain. Other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to noise and light, can also occur. Once it develops, the condition often lasts for life.
Based on the results of a 2018 study, researchers estimated that more than 1 billion people, or 12–14% of the world's population, experienced a migraine headache in 2016.
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
2019 July 14