A newly approved drug to prevent migraines may start working immediately, according to a study published in Neurologythe medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study looked at the drug atogepant, which is an orally administered calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist.
“With many current medications for migraine prevention, it takes time to find the right dose for the individual, and it can take weeks or even months for it to be most effective,” said study author Richard B. Lipton of the College of Albert Einstein MD of Bronx, New York, and fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Some people give up and stop taking their medication before they get to this point. In addition, many people experience side effects with current treatments. Developing a drug that works both effectively and quickly is essential.”
In the study, people who took the drug were less likely to have a migraine on the first day than those who took a placebo. They also had fewer migraines per week during each of the first four weeks of the study and fewer migraines during the study overall than those who took a placebo.
Migraines affect activities and overall quality of life
Researchers analyzed data from three 12-week safety and efficacy studies of atogepant to focus on how quickly improvements occurred.
The ADVANCE study, which enrolled people with episodic migraine, had 222 people taking the drug and 214 taking a placebo. The ELEVATE study, which included people with episodic migraine who had not previously responded well to other oral preventive treatments, had 151 people taking the drug and 154 taking a placebo. The PROGRESS trial, which included people with chronic migraine, had 256 people taking the drug and 246 taking a placebo.
On the first day of the study, 12 percent of those who took the drug in the first trial, the ADVANCE trial, had a migraine, compared with 25 percent of those who took the placebo. In the second study, the ELEVATE study, the figures were 15% and 26%. For the third study, the PROGRESS study, the numbers were 51% and 61%, he writes EurekAlert.
When the researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect migraine rates, they found that people who took the drug were 61 percent less likely to have a migraine in the first study, 47 percent less likely in the second study, and 37% less likely in the third study.
The study mainly involved women
For the first two studies, people taking atogepant had an average of one fewer migraine day per week, compared with an average of less than half a day less per week for those taking the placebo.
For the third study, the average number of migraine days per week decreased by about 1.5 days for those who took the drug, compared with about one day for those who took the placebo.
People who took the drug also showed an improvement in ratings of how much the migraine affected their activities and overall quality of life compared to people who took the placebo.
A limitation of the study is that it primarily involved women and white participants, so the results may not apply to the entire population.
We recommend you also read:
Weight loss drugs can cause muscle and bone loss
An experimental tooth regeneration drug tested in Japan
Exercise may reduce the need for medication, a study suggests
Weight loss drugs may also help patients with kidney disease
Source: www.descopera.ro
