Underresearched and often dismissed, migraines have made their sufferers a resourceful bunch. But a promising new drug might finally offer relief.
To be clear: A migraine is not a headache, and people with migraines don’t like their condition to be called one. It’s not that headaches aren’t a part of a migraine: They are. But a headache is a single symptom of a multifaceted neurological disease— one that includes loss of vision, nausea, and sensitivity to light, sound, and smell. And those are just the common side effects. Some sufferers find themselves yawning compulsively, slurring their speech, and losing sensation on one side of their bodies. Some migraineurs (yes, that is the technically accurate moniker for migraine sufferers) start seeing big things as small—a side effect dubbed “Alice in Wonderland syndrome” by doctors.
Nonetheless, for as long as they have existed, migraines have been trivialized as headaches, or dismissed altogether. Which is clear when you look at the treatments available: Almost every drug used between 1550 B.C. and today has been a repurposed one. Poultices of opium and honey, Botox, antidepressants—drugs whose efficacy was not intended but stumbled upon. Triptan, a class of vessel constrictors created to abort (not prevent) attacks at their onset, was released in 1991 and has been the only class of drug created specifically for migraines—that is, until now. On May 17, a preventative drug called Aimovig, 30 years in the making, gained FDA approval; it’s a monthly shot that modulates patients’ levels of CGRP, a neurotransmitter whose levels rise during migraine attacks. This means that it could be in the hands (or arms— it’s injectable) of migraineurs within the month.
Denne historien er fra May 28, 2018-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra May 28, 2018-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten