New Drug To Treat Migraines Shows Promise

(CNN) — A new drug to treat migraines has shown promise in a large-scale clinical trial, offering hope to people unable to use current treatment options. The drug, ubrogepant, showed greater rates of pain and symptom relief from migraine compared to a placebo, with more than 20% of participants given the drug reporting to be pain-free within two hours and more than 34% relieved of the most bothersome symptoms linked to migraine, which include light and noise sensitivity. This is compared to 14% and 27%, respectively, from the placebo. “Having ubrogepant as a potential new medication for the acute treatment of migraine will provide much-needed innovation for a disease that causes lost time for millions of people,” said Dr Richard B. Lipton, director of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York, who led the study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA. Lipton is also a consultant for Allergan, the pharmaceutical company that sponsored the trial. Ubrogepant is currently pending approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. An estimated 40 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide suffer from migraines. The condition affects 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men, according to the American migraine foundation. The most common symptom is an intense headache typically affecting one side of the brain, but symptoms can also include nausea, vomiting, and light, noise and smell sensitivity. Onset of a migraine can involve visual disturbances known as auras. &#...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News CNN Migraines Source Type: news