About Migraine Attacks
Migraine is characterized by recurring attacks of throbbing headache pain, often associatedwith visual, auditory or gastrointestinal disturbances. Attacks range from mild to severe and can last from 4 hours to 72 hours. In the most severe attacks, migraine sufferers are unable to pursue basic daily activities. According to the American Council for Headache Education, migraines afflict 25 million to 30 million people in the U.S. alone. As many as 6% of all men and up to 18% of all women experience a migraine headache at some time.
While the precise mechanism of migraine is unknown, researchers believe migraine attacks are caused by acute inflammation surrounding selected blood vessels in the head. The average migraine sufferer experiences the first attack during the early teen years, and the attacks generally continue throughout adulthood.
Not all migraine attacks are of the same severity. Consequently, a variety of oral, injectable, and intranasal therapies are used to treat different types of migraine attacks. Many patients use a personal, individually developed, step-care approach to treat their attacks. Attacks are often treated initially with simple over-the-counter analgesics, particularly if the patient is unable to determine if the attack is a migraine or some other type of headache. If over-the counter remedies are unsuccessful, patients often turn to more potent prescription drugs, including narcotics, analgesic/narcotic drug combinations and triptans.
Treatment of Migraine
Triptans are the family of drugs most commonly prescribed for the treatment of migraine attacks. Triptans have demonstrated the ability to treat migraines by constricting blood vessels in the brain. Although triptans can be effective in treating migraine symptoms, they are associated with side effects and other disadvantages that include: the occurrence of cardiovascular related events, including chest pain/discomfort, throat discomfort and warm/cold sensations; the potential for other serious cardiovascular events, including death; difficulty in producing sustained benefits with a single dose in a majority of patients; the occurrence of nausea and dizziness during treatment; and the need for cardiovascular evaluations from physicians before initially prescribing triptans to patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Despite these shortcomings, in 2006, according to IMS Health’s IMS National Sales Perspective(TM), or IMS, total triptan sales in the U.S. were approximately $2.2 billion. Imitrex®, marketed by GSK, is the leading triptan product. There are currently three types of triptan formulations commercially available: oral, intranasal and injectable. According to IMS, U.S. sales for Imitrex of all three of these formulations totaled approximately $1.2 billion in 2006. An oral triptan is often the physician’s first choice as a prescription treatment for migraine pain. Intranasal triptans are often prescribed for patients requiring faster relief than oral drugs can provide or who cannot take oral medications. For the most severe attacks, patients sometimes use an injectable form of a triptan.
For additional information on migraines, please visit The American Council for Headache Education web site at www.achenet.org.