More studies on Tonabersat

A new study has been come out for the upcoming migraine drug, tonabersat.  The drug is a gap junction blocker, and researchers are hopeful that it will be specifically helpful for those with migraine with aura.

The new study confirmed this idea.  The small but carefully done study showed a reduction of migraine attacks by about 1/3 over a course of 12 weeks for those with migraine with aura for those who took 40mg of tonabersat once daily.  When aura wasn’t taken into consideration, tonabersat didn’t perform better than a placebo.

In other words, if you get migraine with aura regularly, this drug may be for you.  Otherwise, it doesn’t look like it.

The continuing studies on tonabersat not only help us prepare for which patients will benefit, but also help us understand more about migraine.  At the moment, these findings seem to support the theory that migraine with aura has a lot to do with the cortical spreading depression.  Migraine without aura seems different somehow.