Common anti-epileptic medication shows promise in reducing migraine aura
· News-MedicalA new study by researchers at Lund University in Sweden found that 85 percent of patients with aura-dominant migraine experienced a reduction in monthly aura days by at least half following treatment with the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine. The findings need to be confirmed in a controlled study, but could eventually be significant for a patient group that currently lacks a specific treatment for the aura itself.
Around 1.5 million people in Sweden suffer from migraine. Migraine affects both individuals' daily lives and society as a whole. The disease limits the ability to work and participate in social activities, and leads to significant costs through sick leave, reduced productivity and increased healthcare needs. Women are three times as likely to be affected as often as men, a difference that is largely due to hormonal factors.
The medicine lamotrigine is approved for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, but not for migraine. However, as both epilepsy and migraine aura involve temporary changes in nerve cell activity, the researchers wanted to investigate whether the drug could also prevent aura. Lamotrigine affects the electrical activity of nerve cells by acting on sodium and potassium channels, and also reduces the release of, amongst other things, the neurotransmitter glutamate. In this way, the medicine can reduce the excessive excitability of the nerve cells. In theory, these mechanisms could help to prevent the emergence and spread of CSD.
The four stages of a migraine attack
Migraine attacks are usually divided into four phases, although not all sufferers experience all of them during every attack.
- Prodrome (lasting from a few hours to several days): irritability, low mood, fatigue, sensitivity to light and sound, difficulty concentrating, nausea, difficulty speaking and reading, and difficulty sleeping.
- Aura (usually lasting 5-60 minutes per individual aura symptom): visual disturbances or loss of vision, tingling, numbness, impaired balance, speech disturbances.
- Headache phase (4-72 hours): headache, often accompanied by nausea or vomiting, increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell, and occasionally dizziness and other autonomic symptoms.
- Postdrome (up to 24-48 hours): tiredness, low mood, difficulty concentrating and a feeling of mental sluggishness.
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