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F.D.A. Approves First Drug Designed to Prevent Migraines
The first medicine designed to prevent migraines was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, ushering in what many experts believe will be a new era in treatment for people who suffer the most severe form of these headaches. The drug, Aimovig, made by Amgen and Novartis, is a monthly injection with a device similar to an insulin pen. The list price will be $6,900 a year, and Amgen said the drug will be available to patients within a week.
Aimovig blocks a protein fragment, CGRP, that instigates and perpetuates migraines. Three other companies — Lilly, Teva and Alder — have similar medicines in the final stages of study or awaiting F.D.A. approval. "The drugs will have a huge impact," said Dr. Amaal Starling, a neurologist and migraine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. "This is really an amazing time for my patient population and for general neurologists treating patients with migraine."
Millions of people experience severe migraines so often that they are disabled and in despair. These drugs do not prevent all migraine attacks, but can make them less severe and can reduce their frequency by 50 percent or more. As a recent editorial in the journal JAMA [DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.4852] [DX] put it, they are "progress, but not a panacea."
Sticker shock? The price is 30% less than Wall Street expected. Meanwhile, people are self-administering psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin to treat migraines and cluster headaches.
(Score: 1) by goathack on Monday May 21 2018, @09:31PM (6 children)
Psilocybin works for many. Problem with homegrown is getting the right dosage and the blood pressure spikes can be rather dangerous, especially as you age. Having another alternative is good.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday May 21 2018, @11:59PM (4 children)
It says a lot that our lawmakers have been fine with people suffering migraine and cluster headaches all these years rather than making exceptions to the war on some drugs. They're apparently fine with drugs costing over $6000/year rather than $50 just to keep the war going.
Considering that a sub hallucinogenic dose is effective for headaches and is only needed once or twice a year, I'm not so sure the blood pressure would be an issue. Particularly if taken under medical supervision. It's nice to have alternatives, but it's not so nice that only the new and expensive one is actually available legally. Especially since the new one doesn't work for all sufferers.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22 2018, @05:21AM (1 child)
There have been effective and legal treatments for years. Honestly, I don't get why this is still an issue. Migraines respond well to hypnosis, riboflavin and therapy.
I used to get migraines most days. But since I learned a visualization exercise I've been effectively free of the debilitating effects for years. I probably still get them most days, but I don't really notice them any more.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 23 2018, @01:23AM
It's good that it worked for you, but it doesn't help a lot of others.
(Score: 1) by goathack on Tuesday May 22 2018, @04:48PM (1 child)
Blood pressure is an issue for me. And I have legal, pharmaceutical psilocybin (sumatripan) and it's cheap enough.. It's required far more often than once or twice a year to prevent my headaches, sometimes multiple times a week. Of course I live somewhere that drug costs aren't ridiculous and have proper coverage.
Triptans also not great for sufferers with mental illness, pregnant people, etc. even at hallucinogenic doses.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday May 22 2018, @05:12PM
Sumatriptan is NOT psilocybin
That's why the kids don't just down a handful and take a trip.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22 2018, @12:16AM
Comparative potency of different species [erowid.org]
Almost all psilocybin mushrooms are P. cubensis, but there is some variation in potency from growing conditions. Grinding the caps and stems and loading them into empty pills can help to average out the potency. If the doses [erowid.org] used by migraine sufferers are going to be small or non-psychoactive, they can play around with the dose amount.