In France, Inserm estimates that 20% of women, 10% of men and 5% of children suffer from migraines. Migraine is a neurological disease that should not be confused with “simple” headaches: it is characterized by repeated crises which can last between several hours and several days.
Migraine is not just a “headache”!
Migraine management combines painkillers (in case of crisis: aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen…) with a background treatment (to be taken regularly: beta-blockers, antidepressants, antiepileptics, etc.).
Exactly: a new study, carried out by the University of Oxford (in the United Kingdom), compared the effectiveness of 17 drugs commonly used to treat migraine. For this, the English researchers worked with medical data concerning more than 89,000 patients suffering from this neurological disease.
Scientists have discovered that the most effective family of drugs against migraines are: triptans. More specifically: to relieve pain after 2 hours of a migraine attack, Eletriptan (Relpax®) should be favored. This medication would also be the best choice in case of a “long” crisis (24 hours or more).
Triptans, effective painkillers for migraines
Note: Other medications (such as lasmiditan, rimegepant, and ubrogepant) have not been shown to be more effective than triptans.
What exactly are triptans? These drugs commonly prescribed for migraines combine two mechanisms: a vasoconstrictor effect on the cranial vessels and an inhibitory effect on the release of inflammatory substances.
Attention : Drugs in this family are available only on prescription: they cannot be purchased freely in pharmacies. In addition, triptans should not be prescribed without prior assessment to people suffering from cardiovascular diseases (smoking, high blood pressure, history of heart attack or stroke, angina, diabetes).
Source : The British Medical Journal
Source: www.topsante.com
