NEW PILL SLASHES MIGRAINE ATTACKS!

Fewer side effects than other treatments

MIGRAINES may become less of a headache with a newly available prescription pill, new research suggests.

Researchers from Sweden’s Lund University studied more than 700 migraine sufferers and found those who took the drug rimegepant say they experienced migraines four days fewer every month — compared to three fewer days among those in the placebo group.

But half of those taking rimegepant say they saw a drop of 50 percent or greater in the number of days per month during which they experienced severe head pain.

During trials, the pill — which dissolves under the tongue — was taken as a preventive measure every two days, but experts say it can also be taken to potentially lessen the intensity of an impending attack.

According to scientists, the tablet acts like injectable drugs in the same class, in that rimegepant helps block the migrainecausing chemical calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which docks onto brain cell receptors and prompts the crippling headaches.

Docs say rimegepant differs from previously prescribed preventive treatments, which were often developed for other conditions and have potential to cause unwelcome side effects.

For example, tricyclic antidepressants, which block serotonin — thought to play a role in migraines — can cause drowsiness and weight gain, and beta-blockers, most often used to lower blood pressure, can also cause fatigue.

British neurologist Dr. Brendan Davies, who was not involved in the study, says, “The CGRP drugs are the biggest change I have seen for people with migraines in the 18 years I have worked in headache care.”