SUMAVEL DosePro

7 April 2014

Subcutaneous Sumatriptan for Cluster Headache

James Discoveries & Stats, Medications 0

An recently updated survey of triptan for cluster studies came up with a winner: subcutaneous sumatriptan.

Of course, there weren’t a lot of competitors. Cluster headache is rare and therefore the studies are few.

Other contestants included the placebo (the clear loser), oral zolmitriptan and intranasal zolmitriptan.

Because cluster symptoms are so fast and furious, oral medications generall do poorly. That leaves us with the intranasal zolmitriptan and subcutaneous sumatriptan.

Intranasal medications are taken, as you may guess, through the nose. It’s a fast way to get medications into the body without the needle factor.

Only about 28% of patients were left with no pain or mild pain after taking the intranasal zolmitriptan.

Finally, subcutaneous sumatriptan. Subcutaneous is a fancy word that usually refers to an injection. However, medications such as Sumavel DosePro are needle-free.

Patients who took the subcutaneous sumatriptan did the best. Three quarters had little or no pain within 15 minutes.

Learn more about subcutaneous sumatriptan here. This article is more focused on migraine, and does warn about using sumatriptan before talking to your doctor, which is always important.

Study abstract: Triptans for acute cluster headache.

15 August 2011

SUMAVEL DosePro – Patients like needle free injections

James Medications, News 3

Patients like DosePro needle free injections – at least compared to their previous triptan treatment.their phase 4 clinical study, which was an open label study to see if triptan patients were happy with the switch to SUMAVEL DosePro, a needle free injection system for sumatriptan we’ve talked about before. The results say that patients who currently use triptans in the treatment of multiple migraine attacks reported a higher level of satisfaction, confidence and preference for SUMAVEL DosePro.

The results will be published in the September issue of the journal Headache, The Journal of Head and Face Pain.

The leading author of the study was Dr. Roger K. Cady, associate executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation board of directors. Dr. Cady says about DosePro:

"The Phase 4 study results support the use of SUMAVEL DosePro as an important treatment option for migraine patients, such as those with aggressive, rapid-onset attacks. It provides a fast-acting and easy-to-use injectable triptan therapy option for patients to use as part of their migraine toolbox in conjunction with their oral triptan medications so that the right medication can be used for specific attacks."

10 November 2009

Easy injections and needle-free injections

James Medications, News 5

Progress is being made to make needle-free injections widely available. The DosePro needle free system is one of these. Zogenix plans to launch SUMAVEL DosePro in January (2010), a needle free sumatriptan injection.

Certain studies have suggested that taking your abortive medication earlier during your migraine attack is critical. But the fact remains, if you’re going to take the medicine, the sooner it gets into your system the better.

An injection allows you to get the relief that the medicine offers within minutes. And the DosePro system is very easy and quick.

You may notice, however, that whatever the inference may be, this system is not being marketed as "pain-free". Yes, it still hurts. Though it may have advantages over a needle injection, being painless isn’t one of those advantages.

Some patients aren’t aware that there are now very easy needle injections out there as well. Even needle injections have come a long way since the days of one big needle, careful handling, and all the other horrors you may imagine.

Patients can use a simple pen like device to give themselves a quick injection, and they may find faster, more effective relief over the oral medicine.

More on the upcoming release of SUMAVEL DosePro
Thoughts from Dr. Alexander Mauskop on injections