Migraine Treatment Developments

Migraine headaches change about 11% of the U.S. and Western Europe; yet this health complaint remains under diagnosed. Migraines generally develop gradually and last between four and 72 hours, the harshest symptom being throbbing head pain. These headaches may cause increased compassion to movement, light, scents, and sounds; the pain can be dull or throbbing; and they are occasionally associated with loss of appetite, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting. Most migraine sufferers build up headaches during adolescence and often have a family history. Attacks may be triggered by sure foods or alcohol, missed meals, surplus or lack of sleep, emotional or physical stress, menstruation, or oral contraceptives.

Migraines are supposed to be caused by dilation of blood vessels in the brain; drug treatments are intended to normalize these symptoms. Preventative treatment may assist if headaches occur extra than two or three times each month or if conservative therapy is ineffective. Migraine management includes escaping of triggers, preventative medications, and medications for acute attacks.

Despite new treatment developments, obtainable therapies remain underused. Several drugs can help decrease frequency and severity of migraines. Triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt or Maxalt-MLT, Zomig, Amerge, and the newly-released Frova) or dihydroergotamine (DHE 45 or Migranal) are helpful for moderate to severe migraines. Triptans should be used at the onset of headache to decrease pain and disability. Individuals may be differently affected, so patients are confident to try another drug if one doesn’t work for them. Imitrex, Maxalt and Zomig tablets have identical efficacy, speed of onset, and duration; Imitrex nasal spray and injection work additional quickly and effectively than the tablets. Amerge and dihydroergotamine work additional slowly but last longer than other triptans; thus, these may be more helpful for prolonged headaches.

Preventative therapies generally require three or more months before efficacy can be assessed, and patients should try to boundary acute treatments to no more than two days a week. Excessive use of acute treatments is supposed to actually increase headache frequency. Talk to your physician or pharmacist if you think you may be experiencing migraines or if you need additional information about available treatments.