Pharmacological Treatment Of Migraine

Migraine is the most common form of headache and a major cause of paralysis in society. This is why it is important to study medical treatment of migraines for both acute and preventive treatment.

Although the causes of migraine are not known, the impact of certain risk factors that support how it starts is extremely well known.

Migraine is a recurrent and intense headache, usually localized in one side of the head, which constitutes a critical condition. Often, along with this, nausea and vomiting occur, as well as hypersensitivity to light and sound.

There are different types of migraines:

• Migraine with aura. It takes place with visual sensations, called auras, which precede a migraine attack.
• Migraine without aura is the most common type. This is a form of unilateral, throbbing pain of moderate to severe intensity, exacerbated by physical activity. 
• Retinal migraines occur as episodes of visual disturbances: A person affected by this type can only see areas of light, or short-term blindness may occur.
• Pre-stage symptoms of migraine in childhood. At times, children who want to get migraines as adults may have recurrent episodes of vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness.

Risk factors

Although the causes of migraines are not yet known, we know that there are certain risk factors that can provoke migraine attacks. Among these are:

• Stress is among the most important risk factors
• Intense physical training
• Certain types of food and drink, such as alcohol, chocolate, coffee and strong cheeses
• Some types of medications, such as nitroglycerin and gemfibrozil
• Insomnia
• Certain odors, loud noises and bright light
• Hormonal changes in women can lead to episodes of migraine, e.g. during menstruation and menopause. They can also occur in the beginning of a pregnancy

Pharmacological treatment of migraine

When talking about pharmacological treatment of migraines, there are two major groups of medications:

• Those used for acute treatment of seizures
• Preventive or preventive medicine

The treatment of migraine aims to eliminate the pain and the symptoms associated with it. There are three groups of medicines for this purpose:

• Specific. Ergotamines and triptans, overall. Ergotamine alkaloids are a blood vessel astringent from the serotonin 5-HT1 receptors so that they act in different receptors. However, these give unwanted effects like addiction. Triptans are a type of tryptamine-based drug from the serotonin 5-HT1D receptors. They have some anti-inflammatory effect on specific receptors such as 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D. One of the most common drugs is sumatriptan.
• Nonspecific. NSAIDs and panodil. As a rule, these are not very effective in acute attacks with moderate to severe pain, but they are recommended in the case of a mild migraine attack.
• Analgesics. This type of medication is used to treat other symptoms, such as antiemetics against nausea and vomiting.

Prophylactic medicine for migraines

Some forms of prophylactic medication are:

• Beta blockers
• Antiepileptics
• Flunarizin
• Positives
• Clonidine
• Boutilinum type A toxin
• Amitriptyline

Currently, there are drugs with great effect and few side effects. Some of them

To treat migraines properly, one should combine the right drugs with non-pharmacological agents. Just as it is important to be able to treat an acute migraine attack, it is also important to consider preventative treatment that helps reduce the frequency and duration of the attacks.

According to the  American Neurological Association , more than 40% of people with migraines are not diagnosed. Therefore, see a doctor if you often experience headaches.