The breakthrough migraine medication set for approval
<p>An online Migraine World Summit has revealed that millions of Australian migraine sufferers may not be getting high enough doses of medicine to reduce their pain.</p>
<p>But a new class of medicine expected to get FDA approval in the US this year could be the solution for three million Aussie migraine sufferers.</p>
<p>Australian neurologist Professor Peter Goadsby revealed at the Summit that a typical 70kg migraine sufferer needs 900 milligrams of aspirin to relieve their pain, not the standard 600 milligram dose.</p>
<p>Similarly, medications prescribed to beat migraines such as blood pressure medication propranolol and anti-epileptics are often not given in high enough doses to fix the issue.</p>
<p>Dr Richard Lipton from the Montefiore Headache Centre also revealed that patients also need to understand that their migraine medication can actually cause headaches as well, if it is taken too often.</p>
<p>Medication-overuse headaches occur when a person uses drugs such as codeine, barbiturates or triptans more than twice a week, reported the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/health/the-new-breakthrough-migraine-medications-set-for-approval/news-story/a1f29bfb92c6e3fd00904f31f9f64880" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Daily Telegraph</strong></span></a>.</p>
<p>However, a new migraine treatment called Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors is currently going through the FDA approval process and could be the solution for migraine suffers.</p>
<p>This medication, which is the first new migraine treatment in almost 30 years, has shown in trials that it can cut the number of migraine attacks in half.</p>
<p>The medication, which is injected once-a-month, blocks CGPR molecules released in the brain that have been linked to migraine headaches.</p>
<p>The drug reduced the number of attacks by 50 per cent or more in up to 50 per cent of people.</p>
<p>Professor Lars Edvinsson from Lund University, who is behind the research, says it has very few side effects.</p>
<p>Professor Goadsby explained that around half of those who suffer from migraines are never diagnosed because they think they need to have visual disturbances or aura for it to be a “true migraine”.</p>
<p>Only 25-30 per cent of migraine sufferers have a visual disturbance or aura as a side effect.</p>
<p>Do you regularly suffer from migraines? Tell us in the comments below? </p>
