New Drugs Might Prevent Migraines Before They Start
New Drugs Might Prevent Migraines Before They Start
Injectable medications appear promising in early trials, but more research needed
THURSDAY, June 18, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Competing teams of researchers are closing in on a new class of drugs that can prevent chronic migraines by interrupting the chain of events thought to create the headaches.
The drugs target a biochemical called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The results from phase 2 clinical trials show that these drugs can effectively prevent migraine in a substantial portion of headache sufferers, according to the studies.
"It's very exciting, because this would be a form of prevention that might not have a lot of side effects and would be highly effective for people who have not had good treatment," said Dr. Thomas Ward, a professor of neurology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. "The hope is these drugs will be clean, reduce the number of headaches people get, and won't carry a lot of baggage."
Findings from these studies were to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society, in Washington D.C.
Researchers have known for more than two decades that CGRP plays an important role in migraine headaches, said Dr. Peter Goadsby, chair of the scientific program of the American Headache Society's annual meeting and chief of the University of California, San Francisco Headache Center.
The body uses CGRP to control the opening of blood vessels, and it also is thought to play a role in the transmission of pain signals, Ward said.
"The last step in the pathway we think to setting off headache is this substance called CGRP," Ward said. "This material is released by nerves, and when released it causes inflammation in the nervous system."
Headache drugs called triptans currently are used to stop migraines in progress, and they work by blocking CGRP, Ward said. But until now, researchers have been unable to come up with a way to prevent onset of migraines by targeting CGRP.
Traditional pharmaceuticals have not panned out in heading off migraines by blocking CGRP, Goadsby said. CGRP is widely used throughout the body, and blocking its function entirely can cause serious side effects in a number of organs.
New Drugs May Prevent Migraines Before They Start
Injectable medications appear promising in early trials, but more research needed
THURSDAY, June 18, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Competing teams of researchers are closing in on a new class of drugs that can prevent chronic migraines by interrupting the chain of events thought to create the headaches.
The drugs target a biochemical called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The results from phase 2 clinical trials show that these drugs can effectively prevent migraine in a substantial portion of headache sufferers, according to the studies.
"It's very exciting, because this would be a form of prevention that might not have a lot of side effects and would be highly effective for people who have not had good treatment," said Dr. Thomas Ward, a professor of neurology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. "The hope is these drugs will be clean, reduce the number of headaches people get, and won't carry a lot of baggage."
Findings from these studies were to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society, in Washington D.C.
Researchers have known for more than two decades that CGRP plays an important role in migraine headaches, said Dr. Peter Goadsby, chair of the scientific program of the American Headache Society's annual meeting and chief of the University of California, San Francisco Headache Center.
The body uses CGRP to control the opening of blood vessels, and it also is thought to play a role in the transmission of pain signals, Ward said.
"The last step in the pathway we think to setting off headache is this substance called CGRP," Ward said. "This material is released by nerves, and when released it causes inflammation in the nervous system."
Headache drugs called triptans currently are used to stop migraines in progress, and they work by blocking CGRP, Ward said. But until now, researchers have been unable to come up with a way to prevent onset of migraines by targeting CGRP.
Traditional pharmaceuticals have not panned out in heading off migraines by blocking CGRP, Goadsby said. CGRP is widely used throughout the body, and blocking its function entirely can cause serious side effects in a number of organs.