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A drug can halve the amount of time that people are laid low by migraines.
Erenumab is an antibody that blocks a brain pathway involving a molecule called CGRP, which becomes more abundant during migraine attacks. In a trial of nearly 1,000 people, the drug was found to typically reduce the number of “migraine days” a person had by three or four days a month.
The trial involved taking the drug – or a placebo – for six months. The drug halved the duration of migraines in around half of those who took it.
The study is a step forward for understanding and treating migraine, says Peter Goadsby, from King’s College Hospital, London, who led the trial.
“Migraine can be a debilitating, chronic condition that can destroy lives,” says Simon Evans, of the charity Migraine Action. “We hope this marks the start