Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of migraine, conference by the Turin Academy of Medicine
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The news in the field of the use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of migraine will be exposed simultaneously in the presence and remotely by the Academy of Medicine of Turin, Friday 21.5.21 at 17.30. The appointment is an opportunity to learn about new measures aimed at mitigating a frequent problem, the precise causes of which are still unknown.
Headaches and migraines
Headache, identified with the scientific term of "headache", has 13 main forms and over 150 sub-categories and to date there are no specific pharmacological treatments for their treatment. The main grouping provides for the distinction in:
- primary headaches, forms not due to other pathologies and which do not have negative consequences on brain function, but compromise the quality of life of the affected subject,
- secondary headaches, consequence of other pathologies such as, for example, arterial hypertension, head trauma, sinusitis, ocular diseases, etc. (1)
Migraine it is one of the most frequent forms of primary headache and is distinguished, in turn, in its forms without aura and with aura.
Without auraAttacks of pain are recurrent and pulsating, on one or both sides of the head and so annoying as to prevent the carrying out of daily activities. It can be accompanied by discomfort towards light, sounds and smells and also by feelings of nausea and / or vomiting in the most serious forms, with a frequency ranging from a few to several days in the various subjects.
With aura: the pain is preceded by reversible neurological symptoms of short duration (maximum 20 minutes), with attacks less frequent and of more irregular duration than those without aura. The naming is due to visual problems such as clouding, lightning or a deformed vision of objects. These sensations may be accompanied by tingling or reduced touch from the hand to the mouth, along with weakness and difficulty in expression.
Innovative treatments with monoclonal antibodies
The newness presented in the meeting concern the identification of a possible mechanism directly involved with the migraine circuits, the calcitonin gene (CGRP), on which it is possible to intervene at the neuropeptide or receptor level with newly developed antibody-based drugs monoclonal, tested in trial randomized clinical trials with excellent results in terms of efficacy and safety, taking into account some risk categories that cannot receive this treatment. Blocking the transmission of CGRP may be a new and decisive system for the prevention and treatment of migraine. (2) (3)
The solution it could be more effective than treatment with botulinum toxin, which is currently very expensive and on which there is still no effective evidence of a capacity in the prevention and resolution of migraines in the subjects treated. (4)
The It can be followed directly in person at the Aula Magna of the Academy of Medicine (via Po 18, Turin), upon reservation to be made by email [email protected], or remotely, on the website www.accademiadimedicina.unito.it.
Andrea Adelmo Della Penna
Note
(1) Italian Neurological Association for Headache Research (2019) Extract from: Headache - Knowing it to cure it. https://anircef.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Conoscere_la_cefalea.pdf
(2) Diener et al. (2020) Prevention of migration with monoclonal antibodies against CGRP or the CGRP receptor. Neurological Research and Practice 2:11, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-020-00057-1
(3) Raffaelli et al. (2019) Monoclonal antibodies for the prevention of migration. Expert Opinion. Biol. Ther. 19 (12): 1307-1317, doi: 10.1080 / 14712598.2019.1671350
(4) Herd et al. (2018) Botulinum toxins for the prevention of migraine in adults (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Review 6: CD011616, doi: 10.1002 / 14651858.CD011616.pub2
Graduated in Food Technology and Biotechnology, licensed food technologist, he follows the research and development area of Wiise Srl, a benefit company.
