A entirely new treatment for chronic migraine and headaches reduces the frequency of headaches by as much as 50-percent.
Many patients of Culicchia Neurological Clinic have seen unprecedented relief from migraines using a monthly or quarterly self-injection, and with significantly fewer side effects than oral medications. The drugs now available to patients are anti-CGRP antibody treatments and include Aimovig, Emgality and Ajovy.
In your body you have CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide), and CGRP receptors. The CGRP attaches to and activates the receptor; this activation is thought to play a key role in provoking migraines and headaches. The new drugs block the CGRP receptor so CGRP cannot attach to it, thereby preventing a headache.
These are fairly new and very effective migraine treatments. There has never been a treatment like this before and it is profoundly helping many of my patients.
According to the American Migraine Foundation, Anti-CGRP treatments consist of monoclonal antibodies, which are not drugs, but instead are antibody proteins engineered to target and neutralize other proteins or their receptors. These monoclonal antibodies do get into the brain to a significant degree, and are not metabolized by the liver. That means organ toxicity and interactions with other drugs should be minimal, and thus far, the side effect profile overall appears very favorable.
The drugs come in single-use monthly or quarterly injections designed to be administered by the patients themselves.
