The study* demonstrates that candesartan cilexetil (Atacand), an angiotensin II receptor blocker, is potentially effective as a migraine prevention drug by reducing headache incidence among migraine sufferers by 26% compared to placebo. The mean number of days with headaches in the 12 week placebo period was 18.5, versus 13.6 in the 12 week candesartan period (p=0.001).
These data also show significance (p<0.001) for key secondary endpoints including: hours with headache; days with migraine; hours with migraine; headache severity; and level of disability. Days with sick leave were also significantly reduced by 64% (p=0.01). Importantly, these benefits were associated with good tolerability as adverse events were few with candesartan treatment and not significantly different from placebo.1
"These exciting results provide the first evidence for the potential of candesartan to provide effective prevention for migraine sufferers, with an improved tolerability over currently prescribed therapies. These patients could gain a degree of protection from migraine attacks, without having to bear the additional burden of unpleasant side-effects," commented Dr Erling Tronvik, study principal investigator, Norwegian National Headache Centre, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
"Any patient will tell you that they would prefer to prevent, rather than treat, an attack", Dr Tronvik continued, "but clinicians are currently faced with an increasing number of medications for migraine prevention, all of which differ in efficacy and are associated with various side effects. Further investigation is needed, but a treatment with proven efficacy and good tolerability would have obvious benefits for both clinici
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Contact: Stephen Morgan
stephen.morgan@ketchum.com
44-207-611-3614
Ketchum
2-Jan-2003