A new treatment for preventing migraines in patients with frequent attacks, and it has shown a good effect withoutany side effects.

In American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, a data regarding the phase 3 trial has presented. it was stated as a monthly injection of the drug Erenumab have decreased the number of migraines experienced by patients with an episodic migraine.

Erenumab is a human monoclonal antibody designed to target a receptor for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a protein involved in the transmission of pain signals and dilation of blood vessels that have been implicated to play a major role in migraines.

In current condition, most of the doctors are prescribing triptans in order to relive the migraine condition exact mechanism of the drug was not known yet mainly like how this drug stops the migraine attack. We now have evidence that triptans inhibit release of CGRP from overactive nerves in the trigeminal ganglion – a collection of nerve fibers that innervate the head, eye, and jaw. Unfortunately, taking a pill after you have a migraine is only a band-aid treatment, and people who get episodic or chronic migraines (15 or more episodes a month) are typically recommended to try one of several preventative medications. These prophylactic agents must be taken every day and have mixed success. Furthermore, they may cause side effects as debilitating as the migraines themselves.

Erenumab, on the other hand, directly blocks migraine development by binding to the CGRP receptors on nerve cells, thus preventing CGRP from binding.

In a not-yet-published trial run by pharmaceutical company Novartis, 246 episodic migraine sufferers who had already tried two to four prophylactic medications to no avail were given injections of erenumab or a placebo once a month for three months. During the treatment period, 30 percent of the people who received erenumab experienced half the number of migraines that they had previously, compared with only 14 percent of placebo patients.

Patients taking erenumab reported mild side effects that were similar to those on the placebo. But as per the novartis’ collaborator Amgen, A trial involving more than 3,000 patients have demonstrated the drug is safe and effective for up to five years.

One of the neuroscientists has expressed his views regarding the Erenumab treatment for a migraine as “This is the first-ever mechanism specific migraine drug designed for prevention, This will change migraine treatment for those who don’t respond to conventional treatments.”

Dr Mark Toms, a chief scientific officer at Novartis UK, said: “There has been no real advancement in migraine treatment for the past 20 years and we’re proud to be breaking new ground in neurology for the millions of people in the UK living with the painful and disruptive symptoms of migraine.