Seen On

Alzheimer's Drug Could Help Migraine Sufferers

(KDKA) Migraine patients often try an assortment of medications to control their headaches, but now a drug already approved for memory problems may make mincemeat out of the migraine cycle.

"Migraine's an extraordinarily common problem," said Dr. Andrew Charles. "About 25 percent of women have migraines, even by very strict diagnostic criteria."

Doctor Charles is a leading migraine researcher with a focus on a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression.

"Cortical spreading depression is a wave of electrical activity that crosses the surface of the brain very slowly, and then is followed by a depression of activity," said Dr. Charles.

That can trigger a migraine.

To control this wave of activity, researchers tried an Alzheimer's medication called Namenda.

"What we found is that it actually influences cortical spreading depression, it inhibits spreading depression," said Dr. Charles.

The UCLA team prescribed Namenda, also called Memantine, to see if it could prevent migraine in patients who weren't getting relief elsewhere.

"About 65 percent of them had a very significant decrease in their migraine frequency, with at least a 50 percent reduction in headaches."

The medication used in this study, Namenda, was prescribed in a so-called "off-label" way.

That means if your doctor prescribes it, insurance probably won't cover the cost.

This medication isn't intended for life-long use, and can be tapered off once the migraine cycle is broken.

More information:

American Headache Society
The National Headache Foundation
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Memantine Information 

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)