sumatriptan

18 October 2010

A Very Special “Skin Patch” for Migraine

James Discoveries & Stats, Medications, News 0

If you’re going to pay for a medication for headache or migraine, you want to get the most for your money, right? You want it to actually get into your system, at the right time, in the right amount.

It’s not easy to do. Sometimes different brands vary slightly. Migraineurs have issues such as gastric stasis that can keep medication from being effective. Even the time of day or the food/drink you take your medicine with can make a difference.

But one thing that makes a big difference is how the medication is delivered. Are you taking a pill? Injection?

But now there are other options, and more are coming.

For example, there are needle-free injections of various kinds (one of these is what we’re going to talk about).

Then there are nasal spays/inhalers. These are also quick, relatively painless, and they can get more medication in your system faster than a pill would.

Injections and nasal sprays are the most popular non-pill options for migraine, but they have their problems. In the case of nasal sprays, some of the medication still ends up being swallowed, taking the "non-efficient" route. And we know the problem with injections – we don’t like them! (Many migraineurs experience general increased sensitivity to pain – and they want us to inject ourselves at this stage?!)

Migraine Medicine via Your Skin

So one of the new systems being investigated is the patch on the skin, or the transdermal patch.

This is a very special patch, though. Containing a tiny microprocessor, it actually delivers the medicine using an electical impulse. The patch is "activated", then it stays active for several hours. This is known as Iontophoretic delivery.

The result is an easy and very exact delivery of medication.

A recent report from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA, confirmed that the studies with sumatriptan (Imitrex, Imigran) are very positive so far. Because of the improved delivery, many patients also seem to avoid the side effects that come with sumatriptan injections.

The iontophoretic system is already in use for some medications, commonly anti-inflammatories and narcotic analgesics.

Is this the wave of the future in migraine abortive medication? So far it looks like there are a lot of advantages to this system. The challenge will be getting companies, doctors and patients to buy into the idea.

What do these patches look like?

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

26 May 2006

The UK approves Over the Counter Triptan

James News 0

A version of the drug sumatriptan, called Imigran Recovery, is now available without a prescription in the UK. There have been rumblings for a while that this would happen, and now the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has given the go ahead for the drug to be sold over the counter. It will be available starting in mid-June.

There have been a few reasons to hope that drugs like this would be made more available. For one thing, some research shows that taking the drug earlier has a better chance of stopping the attack. Eliminating the visit to the doctor enables people to get relief fast, before the symptoms really balloon out of control. Some patients find their doctors reluctant to prescribe the drug, which means more delays.

As with any move to make a drug more available, this means more freedom and responsibility for the patient. Some have expressed concern that they wanted advice from a doctor, not just a pharmacist. A survey was done of members of the Migraine Action Association (MAA), and 51 percent approved of the new ruling, but 39 percent were against it. The bottom line for most of us is that we need to continue to be personally educated, we need to talk to our doctors at appropriate times, and use drugs like this responsibly. This is probably only the first of many drugs like this that will be made more available.

Read the MAA’s survey, and some of the comments members made about the debate.

28 December 2004

New guidelines for children with migraine

James Medications, News, Resources 0

Researchers are realizing how crucial it is to understand migraine in children. Many questions need to be answered – are migraine triggers the same in children as adults? What medications work for children, and which ones don’t? What about alternative therapies?

The American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society published some new guidelines to summarize some of the findings to date. Both ibuprofen and acetaminophen have been found to be good treatments for migraine symptoms. Sumatriptan nasal spray is also an effective treatment in adolescents, but oral triptans so far don’t seem to be all that helpful.

The recent report is a good reminder that we need to watch for symptoms in children, and not just treat them with the medication we use but take them to a doctor and be well informed ourselves.