NEW MIGRAINE TREATMENT – CGRP

“The World Health Organization says migraine is in the top 10 most disabiling medical conditions on the planet,” says Dr. Peter McAllister, of New England Institute for Neurology & Headache. (Click on above for video.)

Which is where the newest weapon in the fight against migraine comes in.

This once a month shot, Aimovig,  is the first in a new class of drugs designed to block CGRP, a molecule that scientists say is elevated in the blood of migrainers.

In a recent talk to migraine patients, Dr. McAllister called this new “preventive treatment” a game-changer.

“These monoclonal antibodies go from the site of the injection up to the brain processing center. They bind to CGRP or recepetor with lock and key specificity and knock it out. They stay there for a long time and then they’re broken down into proteins that the body just absorbs anyway,” he said.

In clinical trials at NEINH, Dr. McAllister says he saw a high success rate for all four CGRP drugs. So, he says consumers will have choices, but it may come down to what insurance covers. To watch entire “CGRP and Me” talk, just click on this video.