Migraine prevention aims to restore normality to patients' lives. Preventative therapy should only be considered if more than two attacks occur per month, acute medications prove ineffective, severity justifies prevention, or if there is a need to improve the efficacy of symptomatic treatments.
Recommended treatments for migraine prevention vary from country to country. Common treatment options include beta-blockers, serotonin antagonists and anticonvulsants, however, these treatments are often associated with side effects. Beta-blockers, such as propranolol and timolol, are associated with fatigue, depression and nightmares, and should not be used in patients with asthma, diabetes or low blood pressure. Treatment with the serotonin antagonist methysergide, can lead to vasoconstriction, cramping and fibrotic changes. Divalproex sodium, an anticonvulsant, has been linked with tremor, transient male hair loss and liver toxicity.
Migraine is a disease characterised by recurrent severe headaches in addition to nausea, vomiting and aversion to light and/or sound. More than 10% of the adult population in Western countries are affected with the highest prevalence between the ages of 25 and 55 with females more susceptible than males. Attacks in adults normally last between four and 72 hours and result in an estimated annual loss of almost six days per 1000 working people.
Alleviating the burden of migraine allows sufferers to live normal lives, unhindered by the incapacity and considerable discomfort associated with the condition and it also offers important socioeconomic benefits by reducing related absenteeism from the workplace. Efficacy and tolerability in the field of migraine prevention are extremely desirable characteristics and any novel treatment option that can deliver these offers both patients and prescribers an exciting alternative to current therapies.
'"/>
Contact: Stephen Morgan
stephen.morgan@ketchum.com
44-207-611-3614
Ketchum
2-Jan-2003