Migraine therapy that cut attacks hailed as 'huge deal'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42154668

Migraine therapy that cut attacks hailed as 'huge deal'

By James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

7 hours ago

From the section Health

A new approach to preventing migraines can cut the number and severity of attacks, two clinical trials show. About 50% of people on one study halved the number of migraines they had each month, which researchers at King's College Hospital called a "huge deal". The treatment is the first specifically designed for preventing migraine and uses antibodies to alter the activity of chemicals in the brain. Further trials will need to assess the long-term effects.
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Research has shown a chemical in the brain - calcitonin gene-related peptide or CGRP - is involved in both pain and sensitivity to sound and light in migraine. Four drug companies are racing to develop antibodies that neutralise CGRP. Some work by sticking to CGRP, while others block the part of a brain cell with which it interacts.

Clinical trials on two of the antibodies have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. One antibody, erenumab made by Novartis, was trialled on 955 patients with episodic migraine. At the start of the trial the patients had migraines on an average of eight days a month. The study found 50% of those given the antibody injections halved their number of migraine days per month. About 27% did have a similar effect without treatment, which reflects the natural ebb and flow of the disease.

Another antibody, fremanezumab made by Teva pharmaceuticals, was trialled on 1,130 patients with chronic migraine. About 41% of patients halved their number of migraine days compared with 18% without treatment.
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