They are studying an effective drug that stops migraines at the first symptoms

At the first sign of a migraine, before the headache starts, a drug called ubrogepant may help people with migraines go about their daily lives with few or no symptoms, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology.

The study focused on people with migraines who could predict when an attack would occur based on early symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue, pain or stiffness in the neck, or dizziness.

Ubrogepant is a calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, or CGRP inhibitor, a protein that plays a key role in the migraine process.

“Migraine is one of the most common diseases in the world, but many people who suffer from it do not receive treatment or say they are not satisfied with it.”– says the author of the study, Dr. Richard B. Liptonbelonging Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, Fellow, American Academy of Neurology.

“Improving awareness of the early signs of migraine, even before headaches occur, may be key to improving outcomes. Our results are encouraging and suggest that ubrogepant may help people with migraine function normally and continue with their daily lives.”he adds.

The study involved 518 people who had suffered from migraines for at least a year and had experienced two to eight migraine attacks per month in the three months preceding the study. All participants regularly experienced signs that a migraine would start in the next few hours. Participants were asked to treat two attacks over a two-month period.

The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first group received a placebo for the first set of premigraine symptoms, then 100 milligrams (mg) of ubrogepant for the second set of symptoms. The second group received ubrogepant for the first episode and placebo for the second.

Participants rated their activity limitations in a diary on a scale of zero to five, where 0 meant “not at all limited, could do everything”; 1, “a little limited”; 2, “somewhat limited”; 3, “very limited”; or 4, “extremely limited.”

Twenty-four hours after taking the drug or placebo, 65 percent of people taking ubrogepant reported feeling “not limited at all: everyone could do it” or “a little limited”compared with 48 percent of those taking a placebo.

Researchers found that just two hours after taking the drug, people who took it were 73 percent more likely to report that “they had no disabilities and were able to function normally” than those who took a placebo.

“Based on our results, treatment with ubrogepant may allow people with migraine who experience early warning signs before a migraine occurs to quickly treat early-stage migraine attacks and continue their daily lives with little discomfort or disruption.”

— says Lipton. “This could lead to improved quality of life for people living with migraine.”he adds.

Lipton notes that participants showed that they could reliably predict the onset of a migraine based on headache warning symptoms. These results only apply to those with reliable warning symptoms.

One limitation of the study was that participants recorded their symptoms and medication use in electronic diaries, so some people may not have recorded all the information accurately.

The study was funded by AbbVie, the manufacturer of ubrogepant.