- By Aurelia Foster
- Health Correspondent, BBC News
image source, Getty Images
The first oral treatment to prevent both acute and chronic migraines could soon be available on the NHS.
Health experts say up to 170,000 people in England could benefit from taking Iotepant to prevent severe headaches.
It is recommended for people who have not responded well to other drugs or who cannot take injections.
A migraine charity described it as a positive step and said it hoped access to the drug would be “rapid”.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended against the drug, which comes in tablet form, after clinical trials showed it was effective in some adults.
In the last draft of the directive NICE says atogepant should be given to people who have failed to try three other medicines, most of which have to be taken by injection or injections.
Migraine or headache?
It is not always clear when a headache or migraine starts.
Migraines are very severe and often accompanied by other symptoms such as dizziness, sensitivity to light and difficulty speaking.
The pain can be a painful pain on one side of the head and can last for several days.
Atogepant is designed to be taken daily to prevent both chronic migraines (occurring more than 15 times a month) and episodic migraines (occurring four to 15 times a month).
First of all, it is provided only by specialist doctors in secondary care, not by GPs.
Rob Music, chief executive of the Migraine Trust, said it was good news as migraines can be “debilitating”.
“It’s good to see more treatment options for people with migraines, because many still rely on treatments designed for other conditions.”
However, the charity warned that many people were having trouble getting the same new drugs, because of a lack of knowledge among doctors and long waiting lists for specialists.
“We need to make sure access is fast now so that migraine sufferers can benefit from them as soon as possible,” Mr Music said.
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image source, Deborah Sloan.
Life “gets back on track.”
Atogepant a A new type of anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) drug, Especially designed to treat migraines. They work by blocking the CGRP protein receptor. This is located in the nerves in the head and neck and is thought to cause inflammation and migraine pain. These medications have fewer side effects than older migraine medications, some of which were originally developed for other conditions.
Deborah Sloane, from Brighton, told the BBC that after suffering from chronic migraines for 40 years, Remigepant had put her life “on track”. Other treatments have caused serious side effects.
After losing two jobs due to migraines 20 days a month, she says she can work again.
“I was at the end of Tete,” she said. “I was so discouraged, I wasn’t sure how I was going to go on. I didn’t think I could get another migraine attack because they hurt so bad.
“You can stay up for three days with non-stop vomiting. You can’t do anything. You feel like you want to die, that’s how I felt.”
However, Ms Sloan said she initially had to get rimegepant privately because there was a long wait for a referral to a specialist who could prescribe it.
Atogepant is expected to be available on the NHS in England from next month.
It is already available in Scotland to prevent and relieve migraine symptoms.