PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Cheap medicines prevented migraine as well as expensive ones

Cheap medicines prevented migraine as well as expensive ones
2023-11-17
(Press-News.org) Migraine is more than just a headache. Often the pain is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity. Chronic migraine can be disabling and may prevent many, especially women, from contributing to working life.

Still, it often takes a long time for migraine patients to find a treatment that works well for them. Researchers at the Norwegian Center for Headache Research (NorHead) have used data from the Norwegian Prescription Register to look at which medicines best prevent migraine in people in Norway:

“There has now been done a lot of research on this subject before. This may weaken the quality of the treatment and increase the cost of treatment for this patient group”, says the leader of the study, Professor Marte-Helen Bjørk at the Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen.

Three medicines had better effect than the first choice of medicines.

The researchers used national register data from 2010 to 2020 to estimate treatment effect. They measured this by looking at the consumption of acute migraine medicines before and after starting preventive treatment, and investigated how long the people with migraine used the different preventive treatments. A total of over one hundred thousand migraine patients were in the study.

“When the withdrawal of acute migraine medicines changed little after starting preventive medicines, or people stopped quickly on the preventive medicines, the preventive medicine was interpreted as having little effect. If the preventive medicine was used on long, uninterrupted periods, and we saw a decrease in the consumption of acute medicines, we interpreted the preventive medicine as having good effect”, Bjørk explains.

As a rule, so-called beta blockers are used as the first choice to prevent migraine attacks, but the researchers found that especially three medicines had better preventive effect than these: CGRP inhibitors, amitriptyline and simvastatin.

“The latter two medicines are also established medicines used for depression, chronic pain and high cholesterol, respectively, while CGRP inhibitors are developed and used specifically for chronic migraine”, says the professor.

Can have great significance for the cost of health care.

CGRP inhibitors are more expensive than the other medicines. In 2021 their reimbursement amounted to 500 million NOK (not including discounts given by pharma companies).

“Our analysis shows that some established and cheaper medicines can have a similar treatment effect as the more expensive ones. This may be of great significance both for the patient group and Norwegian health care” says Bjørk.

The researchers at NorHead have already started work on a large clinical study to measure the effect of established cholesterol-lowering medicines as a preventive measure against chronic and episodic migraine.

Facts:

The study was done in collaboration with Aud Nome Dueland (Headache Norway, Sandvika Neurocenter), Frank Sørgaard (former medical advisor at Novartis) and Solveig Borkenhagen with several from Oslo Economics. The results are published in the prestigious journal European Journal of Neurology.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Cheap medicines prevented migraine as well as expensive ones

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study reveals surprising link between malnutrition and rising antibiotic resistance

2023-11-17
University of B.C. researchers have uncovered startling connections between micronutrient deficiencies and the composition of gut microbiomes in early life that could help explain why resistance to antibiotics has been rising across the globe. The team investigated how deficiencies in crucial micronutrients such as vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, and zinc affected the community of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes that live in the digestive system. They discovered that these deficiencies led to significant shifts in the gut ...

New study reveals the genetics of human head shape

2023-11-17
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and KU Leuven have discovered a suite of genes that influence head shape in humans. These findings, published this week in Nature Communications, help explain the diversity of human head shapes and may also offer important clues about the genetic basis of conditions that affect the skull, such as craniosynostosis. By analyzing measurements of the cranial vault — the part of the skull that forms the rounded top of the head and protects the brain — the team identified 30 regions of the genome associated with different aspects of head shape, 29 of which have not been reported previously. “Anthropologists ...

Miniature device offers peace of mind for diabetics

Miniature device offers peace of mind for diabetics
2023-11-17
The first glucose self-monitoring system created in 1970 weighed three pounds, was initially designed only for physicians’ offices and needed a large drop of blood for a reading. Over 50 years later, researchers at Texas A&M University are working to create a fully injectable continuous glucose monitor (CGM) so small it rivals a grain of rice and can be used with an external optical reader to measure sugar levels at any given time. While CGMs have advanced over the last 25 years, current models can still be a nuisance to the user and the required upkeep may discourage use. To address this issue, two faculty members from the Department of Biomedical Engineering ...

Argonne receives funding to advance diversity in STEM

2023-11-17
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory funding as part of the Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative, aimed at fostering diversity in STEM and advancing innovative research opportunities. DOE announced $70 million to support internships, training programs and mentorship opportunities at 65 different institutions, including 40 higher-learning institutions that serve minority populations. By supporting these partnerships, DOE aims to create a more diverse STEM talent pool capable of addressing ...

Research spotlight: prescribing of benzodiazepines in a homeless veteran population

Research spotlight: prescribing of benzodiazepines in a homeless veteran population
2023-11-17
What Question Were You Investigating? Despite elevated risk for substance use disorder and overdose death in the homeless population, benzodiazepine prescribing for this population has not been examined. Our team therefore set out to answer the questions: What is the rate of benzodiazepine prescribing to homeless vs. non-homeless veterans with mental illness in the VA system? Are homeless veterans more likely to receive risky and potentially inappropriate prescriptions?   What Methods Did You Use? We used logistic regression to compare likelihood of benzodiazepine prescribing and t tests to compare ...

First human clinical trial for pill-sized device that monitors breathing from the gut

First human clinical trial for pill-sized device that monitors breathing from the gut
2023-11-17
Scientists have developed an ingestible device that can safely monitor vital signs like breathing and heart rate from inside humans. The tool, described November 17 in the journal Device, has the potential to provide accessible and convenient care for people at risk of opioid overdose. “The ability to facilitate diagnosis and monitor many conditions without having to go into a hospital can provide patients with easier access to healthcare and support treatment,” says Giovanni Traverso, the first author of the paper, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and gastroenterologist at Brigham ...

Ingestible vital signs monitor shows promise in first-in-human trial

Ingestible vital signs monitor shows promise in first-in-human trial
2023-11-17
What if, instead of going into a sleep lab or being connected to monitoring devices, a patient could have their risk of obstructive sleep apnea measured by swallowing a pill? A new collaborative study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Celero Systems and West Virginia University, evaluated a wireless ingestible device that can accurately report vital signs like heart and respiratory rate. The team tested the device, known as the Vitals Monitoring Pill (VM Pill), in a pilot ...

Putting an end to plastic separation anxiety

Putting an end to plastic separation anxiety
2023-11-17
Bio-based plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) were invented to help solve the plastic waste crisis, but they often end up making waste management more challenging. Because these materials look and feel so similar to conventional, petroleum-based plastics, many products end up not in composters, where they break down as designed, but instead get added to the recycling stream by well-intentioned consumers. There, the products get shredded and melted down with the recyclable plastics, bringing down the quality of the mixture and making it harder to manufacture functional products out of recycled plastic resin. The only solution, currently, is to try to separate the different ...

Ingestible electronic device detects breathing depression in patients

Ingestible electronic device detects breathing depression in patients
2023-11-17
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Diagnosing sleep disorders such as sleep apnea usually requires a patient to spend the night in a sleep lab, hooked up to a variety of sensors and monitors. Researchers from MIT, Celero Systems, and West Virginia University hope to make that process less intrusive, using an ingestible capsule they developed that can monitor vital signs from within the patient’s GI tract. The capsule, which is about the size of a multivitamin, uses an accelerometer to measure the patient’s breathing rate and heart rate. In addition to diagnosing sleep apnea, the device could also be useful for detecting ...

Higher-dose fluvoxamine and time to sustained recovery in outpatients with COVID-19

2023-11-17
About The Study: Among outpatient adults with mild to moderate COVID-19, treatment with fluvoxamine 100 mg twice daily for 13 days, compared with placebo, did not improve time to sustained recovery in this randomized clinical trial of 1,175 participants.  Authors: Susanna Naggie, M.D., M.H.S., of the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.23363) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

For heart health, food quality matters more than cutting carbs or fat

Study suggests obesity contributes to anxiety and cognitive impairment

Higher linoleic acid levels linked to lower heart disease and diabetes risk

Dual-target CAR T cell therapy slows growth of aggressive brain cancer

Adding immune checkpoint inhibitor to standard chemotherapy regimen improves outcomes in stage 3 colon cancer, study finds

Diet influences survival after stage iii colon cancer, Dana-Farber study finds

Switch to experimental drug after liquid biopsy detection of breast cancer recurrence improves outcomes

Alliance presents results from phase III ATOMIC trial combining atezolizumab with chemotherapy for patients with stage III dMMR colon cancer at ASCO 2025

Immunotherapy boosts chemotherapy in combating stage 3 colon cancer

AI deciphers plant DNA: language models set to transform genomics and agriculture

Endophytic fungi from halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum enhance maize growth and salt tolerance

Quality of kids’ diets linked with dad’s eating habits as a teen

Alliance trial shows dual immunotherapy improves progression-free survival in advanced squamous cell skin cancer

Insights from immunotherapy trial inform new approaches to treating advanced skin cancer

Genome breakthrough reveals secrets behind rapid growth and invasiveness of tropical vine Merremia boisiana

Transforming the certification process of 3D-printed critical components

UC Davis clinical trial shows biomarkers hold clue in treating aggressive prostate cancer

UT Health San Antonio researchers discover new links between heart disease and dementia

AADOCR announces new SCADA/Dentsply Sirona Research Award

Mass General Brigham researchers present key findings at ASCO

Student researchers put UTA on national stage

Hertz Foundation and Breakthrough Energy partner to advance climate and energy solutions

New study reveals how tiny insects detect force

New 3D genome mapping technology sheds light on how plants regulate photosynthesis

Dinosaur eggshell study confirms biogenic origin of secondary eggshell units

Transforming immunotherapy design

New book with a global view of men’s experiences with partner violence

New research recovers evidence for lost mountains from Antarctica’s past

Scientists discover new evidence of intermediate-mass black holes

Predicting underwater landslides before they strike

[Press-News.org] Cheap medicines prevented migraine as well as expensive ones