London, England – A groundbreaking new oral treatment for both chronic and episodic migraines is on the horizon for residents in England. According to health experts, up to 170,000 individuals could potentially benefit from atogepant, a drug aimed at preventing severe head pain that can be debilitating.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has endorsed atogepant, a tablet-based medication, for individuals who have not found success with other treatments or are unable to receive injections. This recommendation comes after promising clinical trials demonstrated its effectiveness in certain adults.
Migraines, characterized by throbbing head pain often on one side, can last for days and come with various other symptoms like dizziness, light sensitivity, and difficulty communicating. Atogepant is designed for daily use to mitigate both chronic migraines (more than 15 occurrences a month) and episodic migraines (between four and 15 times monthly).
While the approval of atogepant is seen as a positive step by a migraine charity, concerns regarding swift access to the treatment remain. Rob Music, the chief executive of the Migraine Trust, emphasized the importance of ensuring rapid access to the drug to benefit migraine patients as quickly as possible.
Atogepant falls under a new category of anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) drugs specifically developed to address migraines by blocking the CGRP protein receptor. One individual, Deborah Sloan from Brighton, shared her success story with rimegepant, a similar treatment, which helped her regain control of her life after suffering from chronic migraines for four decades.
Deborah mentioned that previous treatments led to severe side effects, but rimegepant allowed her to return to work after losing two careers due to frequent migraines. Despite the positive outcome, she initially had to obtain the treatment privately due to long wait times for a specialist doctor who could prescribe it.
With atogepant expected to be accessible in England through the NHS from the following month, similar drugs in the same category are already in use in Scotland to prevent and alleviate migraine symptoms. This advancement in migraine treatment showcases the continuous efforts in the medical field to provide innovative solutions for individuals battling this challenging condition.