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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: 2) by takyon on Monday May 21 2018, @11:10PM (2 children)
Conscription will not be seriously discussed without an equally serious discussion of conscripting women. Although you could imagine that women could be forced or coaxed into less demanding combat roles.
Will WW3 require conscription? Automation might make it unnecessary. I was going to write something about conscripting women into factories, but factory work is increasingly moving back to the U.S. because fewer workers are needed to run one (except the Musky One can't grok it [techcrunch.com]). On the war front we have drones being the most attractive weapon by far. You could see robots or mechs replacing "boots on the ground", but not within the next 1-3 years.
But the real question here is: what do you mean by WW3? If it's a nuclear conflict, you don't need to conscript anybody, and you don't have time to do so, because it would be decided in minutes or hours. What will cause a global nuclear conflict? North Korea? U.S. probably has some informal agreement with China where we get to burn NK to a crisp if they do a first strike on the South. India vs. Pakistan? Doubtful.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday May 22 2018, @04:33AM (1 child)
What she means is trolololololol, that's what. That's probably Kurenai or one of her alts.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday May 22 2018, @05:06AM
I choose to respond to the content of the comment. Or at least a part of it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]