New Survey Reveals Worrying Between Attacks Can Extend Suffering For Migraine Sufferers

Main Category: Headache / Migraine
Article Date: 09 Jun 2006 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  
New Survey Reveals Worrying Between Attacks Can Extend Suffering for Migraineurs
A new nationwide survey of migraine sufferers found that nearly half (45 percent) of respondents say migraine is worse than having a root canal and more than two-thirds (68 percent) say they are concerned about their next attack even when not actively experiencing one. Migraines are a painful reality for nearly 30 million Americans, many of whom are dissatisfied with their current treatments.

The survey was conducted on behalf of Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc. by Harris Interactive. Among the survey's findings were:

-- More than three-quarters (76 percent) worry that they will have to suffer with migraines for the rest of their lives.

-- Nearly half (45 percent) feel that concern about another migraine attack is always at the back of their mind.

-- More than one-third of survey participants say they always feel anxious about migraines, never knowing when or if another attack will strike.

-- On average, respondents reported suffering from migraine more than four days in the last month.

"Not only do migraineurs deal with the intense pain and physical symptoms that accompany a migraine attack, some often spend even more days between migraines worrying about when their next headache will occur," said Elizabeth Loder, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and director of the Pain and Headache Management Program at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
For some of these people, there are treatment options that could be right for them.

"Helping to effectively change this cycle of migraine may require taking a new approach to managing the condition for some patients," Dr. Loder said. "Although prescription and over-the-counter medications are commonly used to treat migraine pain when it occurs, migraineurs with frequent, disruptive attacks may benefit from medications that can actually help prevent migraine attacks from happening in the first place so patients can get fewer of them to worry about."

There are as many as 14 million American adults suffering from frequent and severe migraines who may benefit from preventive medications; however, according to the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention study, only one in five sufferers currently uses preventive therapy. The preventive medication most recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is TOPAMAX(R) (topiramate) Tablets, which has been shown in clinical studies to significantly reduce the number of migraine attacks. TOPAMAX is believed to help "calm" over excitable nerve cells in the brain, so they don't send out signals that can cause migraine pain.

"I suffered for nearly 11 years before I found an effective treatment," said Barbara DiGiovanni, 51. "I sometimes felt like the pain during an attack would keep me from fully participating in my home, work and social life, but even when I wasn't having an attack, the anticipation of the next one distracted me from other events."

The goals of preventive medications are to: reduce the frequency and duration of attacks; improve responsiveness to pain-relief medications; and improve function and reduce disability. Combined with lifestyle changes, preventive therapy can help migraine patients effectively manage their condition.

TOPAMAX is not right for everyone. Migraine sufferers should talk to their healthcare professional to see if they might be an appropriate candidate for prevention medication. Individuals taking TOPAMAX should also talk with their healthcare professional to set appropriate expectations about migraine reduction and potential side effects.

About Migraine

Migraine is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including sharp throbbing pain on one side of the head, nausea or vomiting, visual disturbances and sensitivity to noise and light. It is a chronic and greatly misunderstood condition, resulting in temporary incapacitation, lost productivity and significant disruptions to work and personal life. Migraine generally affects women three times more than men, particularly women between the ages of 25 and 55.

About TOPAMAX

TOPAMAX is approved for migraine prevention in adults only.
TOPAMAX is not for the acute treatment of migraines.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Serious risks associated with TOPAMAX include lowered bicarbonate levels in the blood resulting in an increase in the acidity of the blood (metabolic acidosis), and hyperventilation (rapid, deep breathing) or fatigue. More severe symptoms of metabolic acidosis could include irregular heartbeat or changes in the level of alertness. Chronic, untreated metabolic acidosis may increase the risk for kidney stones or bone disease. Your doctor may want to do simple blood tests to measure bicarbonate levels.

Other serious risks include increased eye pressure (glaucoma), decreased sweating, increased body temperature, kidney stones, sleepiness, dizziness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Tell your doctor immediately if you have blurred vision or eye pain.

More common side effects are tingling in arms and legs, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, taste change and weight loss.

Tell your doctor about other medications you take.
Please see full U.S. Prescribing Information at http://www.topamax.com

. TOPAMAX is approved as adjunctive therapy for patients 2 years of age or older with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, partial-onset seizures, or seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

TOPAMAX is approved as initial monotherapy in patients 10 years of age and older with partial-onset or primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Effectiveness was demonstrated in a controlled trial in patients with epilepsy who had no more than two seizures in the three months prior to enrollment. Safety and effectiveness in patients who were converted to monotherapy from a previous regimen of other anticonvulsant drugs have not been established in controlled trials.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Serious risks associated with TOPAMAX include lowered bicarbonate levels in the blood resulting in an increase in the acidity of the blood (metabolic acidosis), and hyperventilation (rapid, deep breathing) or fatigue. More severe symptoms of metabolic acidosis could include irregular heartbeat or changes in the level of alertness. Chronic, untreated metabolic acidosis may increase the risk for kidney stones or bone disease. Your doctor may want to do simple blood tests to measure bicarbonate levels.

Other serious risks include increased eye pressure (glaucoma), decreased sweating, increased body temperature, kidney stones, sleepiness, dizziness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Tell your doctor immediately if you have blurred vision or eye pain.

More common side effects in adults are nervousness, coordination problems, fatigue, speech problems, slowed thinking, memory difficulty, tingling in arms and legs, and double vision; and in children, fatigue, loss of appetite, nervousness, memory difficulty, aggressive behavior, and weight loss.

As monotherapy, the most common side effects of TOPAMAX (in the 400 mg/day group and at a rate higher than the 50 mg/day group) in adults were tingling in arms and legs, weight decrease, sleepiness, loss of appetite, dizziness, and difficulty with memory; and in children, weight decrease, upper respiratory tract infection, tingling in arms and legs, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and mood problems.

In combination with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the most common side effects of TOPAMAX in adults (200 to 400 mg/day) were sleepiness, dizziness, nervousness, loss of muscle coordination, fatigue, speech disorders and related problems, psychomotor slowing, abnormal vision, difficulty with memory, tingling in arms and legs, and double vision; and in children (5 to 9 mg/kg/day), fatigue, sleepiness, loss of appetite, nervousness, difficulty with concentration/attention, difficulty with memory, aggressive reaction, and weight decrease.

Tell your doctor about other medications you take.
Please see full U.S. Prescribing Information at http://www.topamax-epilepsy.com .

Survey Methodology

Harris Interactive(R) fielded an online survey on behalf of Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc., between May 17 and 23, 2006. The survey included a cross- section of 505 adult men and women who reported suffering an average of 2.9 migraine attacks per month.

About Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc.

Headquartered in Titusville, N.J., Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc., focuses exclusively on providing solutions that improve neurological health. The company currently markets products for Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and acute and preventive migraine treatment. Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc., in conjunction with internal and external research partners, continues to explore new opportunities to develop solutions for unmet healthcare needs in neurology.

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc.
http://www.topamax.com

• Additional
• References
• Citations