Study: University of Birmingham researchers claim treatment with exenatide, new drug useful for headaches – University of Birmingham researchers claim treatment With ExenatideNews WAALI

headache icon picture

Expansion

An injectable peptide used to treat type 2 diabetes may be useful in treating patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). IIH is a headache that, if prolonged, can also make the patient blind.

In a study published in the medical journal Brain, researchers tested a GLP-1 receptor agonist called exenatide, the second clinical trial of which has been made public. The study, carried out by a team of neurologists from the University of Birmingham and its hospitals, found that patients who received regular injections of the drug experienced a reduction in headaches. The team recorded this change for as little as 2.5 hours in 24 hours, while the long-term effect was beneficial in preventing headaches for up to 12 weeks.

The trial showed a reduction in recurrent headaches over a period of 12 weeks. Professor Alex Sinclair, a neurology specialist at the Metabolism and Systems Research Institute at the University of Birmingham, said: “This is a major test for the debilitating condition IIH which can make people, usually women, blind. There is no approved medication to treat this headache that patients experience every day. Therefore, these results can play an important role in the future. We are pleased that the results of the Phase II trial are quite satisfactory. We hope that the treatment will soon be available to patients with IIH worldwide.