What's New In Headache Treatment? Articles | Headache

By: Peter Rapport

Headache sufferers take note: there are dozens of new treatments on the horizon, as pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies begin testing a wave of new medications and procedures for the prevention and treatment of chronic headache disorders.

While some of these new drugs may be found to be helpful, others will not. Only time will tell. In the meantime, here's a rundown of some of the newest medications being tested:

Inhalation Devices. Currently in clinical trials, the inhalation device uses heat to vaporize a drug into an odorless mist that passes through the lungs and into the bloodstream in as quickly as 60 seconds, giving migraine sufferers almost instantaneous release.

Skin Patches:

Easy to use, the skin patch allows low-level electrical energy to release drugs into the skin, and provide relief.

Nasal Powders:

A form of dihydroergotamine (which is currently used in a nasal spray form to reduce the severity of headaches), the powder form may be easier to use and more rapidly absorbed by the body.

Carbon Dioxide Inhaler:

Used to permeate the nasal mucous membranes. This specialized inhaler sends pressurized carbon dioxide up one nostril and out the other.

AK Receptor Antagonist:

This therapy selectively blocks transmission of pain signals from receptors, without constricting blood vessels.

Capsaicin Nasal Spray:

The ingredient found in cayenne pepper that gives it its hot and spicy taste, capsaicin in known to relieve pain by destroying the chemical that carries its messages to the brain.

Heart Surgery:

In 25 percent of people, the patent foramen ovale valve between the right and left atrial chambers of the heart never closes, which some scientists think is a major cause of many migraine and cluster-type headaches. Closing this valve has reduced attacks in many patients.

While many of the new treatments being studied may never make it to the average headache-sufferer, the advent of more research in recent years can give the headache sufferer hope that even more new treatments are on the way.