Migraine drug offers hope in hardest cases

♦ A new drug could help those suffering from the hardest-to-treat migraines.

Research on patients who had been treated unsuccessfully with other medications found that the treatment halved the number of episodes among some patients.

Overall, 30 per cent of those given the new drug – erenumab – saw their total number of migraines halved.

The study involved 246 sufferers who were given the drug or a placebo.

Migraine, the most common neurological disorder, is often very difficult to treat. It involves pain on one or both sides of the head and may also include nausea or light sensitivity.

The findings from the Charité – University Medicine Berlin in Germany are due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Los Angeles.