Treating severe migraines: How CGRP therapies can help

Around one million people in Switzerland suffer from migraines. Anysia has been one of them since she was eight years old. She describes her symptoms as one-sided, throbbing and stabbing pain behind the eye, often accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and noise and a strong sensitivity to smells. After a bicycle accident in her youth, the attacks worsened and she had up to 20 migraine days per month.
Anysia says: "I missed out on a lot because of the migraines. Even the anticipation of an event could trigger an attack, and then I'd be lying at home in a dark room instead of being there."

She felt misunderstood for a long time until she met PD Dr. Athina Papadopoulou, head of the headache consultation at the University Hospital Basel. The senior physician explains: "Migraine is invisible. There is no test that makes the diagnosis. There really is no perfect therapy for everyone. With migraines in particular, it is extremely important to respond to the individual sufferer."

Anysia can usually sense exactly when an attack begins. Sometimes it announces itself with nausea, sometimes directly with a headache behind the eye. Then she withdraws into a dark room, as light, noise and smells become unbearable.

Around a third of migraine sufferers also experience an "aura", often in the form of visual disturbances such as zigzagging flickering lines, which many refer to as "eye migraines".

Many migraine patients often wait a long time before seeking specific clarification, sometimes unfortunately too long. PD Dr. Papadopoulou explains:
"For me, the most important reason to go to the doctor is the level of suffering. Migraines are not life-threatening, but they severely restrict your life. If you take painkillers at least ten days a month for a long time, you also run the risk of the headaches getting worse."

For her treatment, Anysia keeps a migraine diary in which she documents the time, duration and intensity of the attacks. This helps the doctor to monitor the progression and plan the appropriate individual migraine treatment.

After careful clarification, she was given a new type of CGRP medication that specifically prevents migraine attacks. PD Dr. Papadopoulou explains: "During migraines, a messenger substance is released, a neuropeptide that is released by nerve cells before and during the attack. It reaches the blood vessels of the meninges, which leads to their dilation and a local inflammation of these vessels and thus to the migraine pain. The medication blocks precisely this signaling pathway and prevents the attacks. Those who respond to it have significantly fewer migraine days. For us, this new drug developed specifically for migraine is truly groundbreaking."

The most important criterion for continuing the therapy is that the monthly migraine attacks are reduced by at least half. Anysia even exceeded this target. The result is clearly noticeable: "Before the treatment, I had around 20 migraine days a month. Now it's around 8. Eight days is almost nothing for me, it's actually a normal life."

Anysia Rempert is grateful for the medical progress, but just as grateful to be taken seriously as a migraine patient.

Find out more in the TV report on "gesundheit heute".