Are you tired of searching for an effective migraine prevention treatment? A new drug may be the answer.
A new drug, called atogepant, maybe the solution for people who have been struggling with migraines and have not found relief with other preventive drugs. According to a preliminary study, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting in Boston from April 22-27, 2023, the drug has shown promising results in preventing migraines for difficult cases.
The study focused on individuals with episodic migraines, which are characterized by up to 14 headache days per month with migraine symptoms.
The role of Atogepant, a newly discovered drug, is to inhibit calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptors, making it a CGRP antagonist. CGRP is a crucial protein involved in initiating the migraine process.
The results of the study “are exciting, as migraine can be debilitating, and this treatment led to fewer days with migraine for people who had already tried up to four other types of drugs to prevent migraine and either had no improvement or had side effects that outweighed any benefits,” remarks study author Patricia Pozo-Rosich.
The research study included 309 participants who had experienced at least four migraine days in the month preceding the study and had tried two or more categories of preventive drugs without success. Of the participants, 44% had previously attempted three or more classes of preventative medication without any improvement.
During the 12-week trial, half of the participants were given a 60-milligram dose of atogepant once daily as a tablet, while the remaining half received a placebo.
The research findings revealed that individuals who were administered the drug had an average of four fewer migraine days each month from the start of the study until its conclusion, while those given the placebo experienced about two fewer days of migraine each month.
Additionally, the group taking atogepant exhibited a notable improvement compared to the placebo group in terms of the frequency of medication required to halt a migraine attack and the percentage of individuals experiencing a 50% or higher decrease in their monthly migraine days.
The most frequent side effects observed during the study were constipation, reported by 10% of atogepant recipients and 3% of the placebo group, and nausea, reported by 7% of those who took the drug and 3% of those who took the placebo.
“People who thought they may not find a way to prevent and treat their migraines may have hope of finding relief with a tolerable oral easy-to-use drug,” Pozo-Rosich adds. “This treatment was safe, well-tolerated and effective for people with difficult-to-treat migraine.
The study had a constraint in terms of its duration, lasting only three months. Pozo-Rosich noted that further research would be necessary to determine the long-term effectiveness and safety of atogepant.
Image Credit: Getty
