CGRP Antagonists: A new era for migraine treatment

Migraine is a common medical condition, affecting as many as 37 million people in the US. It is considered a systemic illness, not just a headache. Recent research has demonstrated that changes may begin to occur in the brain as long as 24 hours before migraine symptoms begin. Many patients have a severe throbbing headache, often on only one side of the head. Some people are nauseated with vomiting. Many are light sensitive (photophobic) and sound sensitive (phonophobic), and these symptoms can persist after the pain goes away.

There are a variety of migraine subtypes with symptoms that include weakness, numbness, visual changes or loss, vertigo, and difficulty speaking (some patients may appear as if they are having a stroke). The disability resulting from this chronic condition is tremendous, causing missed days of work and loss of ability to join family activities.

It is sometimes possible for people to use an “abortive” medication, which, when taken early, can arrest the migraine process. For many patients, a preventive medication can decrease both the frequency and the severity of the migraines. But to date, many of the medications available for migraines have been developed primarily for other causes: seizures, depression, high blood pressure, and muscle spasms, for example. Researchers have been working for decades to develop a “targeted” preventive therapy specifically for migraine, and now we are finally close to having an exciting new treatment.

What does “targeted” therapy mean?

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a molecule that is synthesized in neurons (nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). It has been implicated in different pain processes, including migraine, and functions as a vasodilator — that is, it relaxes blood vessels. Once scientists identified this target molecule, they began trying to develop ways to stop it from being activated at the start of migraines, as a kind of abortive treatment. An agonist makes a molecule work more efficiently, and an antagonist blocks or reduces the molecule’s effect. The CGRP antagonist did work to decrease migraine pain based on certain measures, but there were some serious side effects including liver toxicity.

Please click the link below to read further:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cgrp-new-era-migraine-treatment-2018030513315

At Pain Spa, Dr. Krishna is able to prescribe Aimovig medication privately, as it is not yet available in most NHS hospitals. Please contact us for further details if you wish to try this treatment.