Migraine Sufferers Sought To Test New Medication In Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - There could be a new drug on the way to treat a very common, and often debilitating, disorder.

Testing is going on now nationwide on a medication to prevent migraine headaches — and participates are being sought in Ann Arbor.

Joel Saper with Ann Arbor's Michigan Head, Pain and Neurological Institute, said the drug  — ALD403 — is given through an IV every three months and works by blocking a chemical in the brain.

According to Saper, ALD403, that has been shown to reduce or prevent migraines effectively, significantly reducing the number of migraine days in most patients, with some patients even reporting a 100 percent reduction in migraine days. All this comes at a time when the millions of migraine sufferers worldwide are hoping for breakthroughs and new treatment options.

"The preliminary data that has come from this type of research has been very promising," he told WWJ's Dr. Deanna Lites.

To be considered to take part in the study, patients must experience migraines on a regular basis.

"This particular product is for episodic migraine," Saper said. "That means people that have periodic headaches, but we're looking for people who have high-frequency episodic headaches — which means not just one every couple of months, but more frequent headaches during the course of a month."

Only adult patients are being sought — both male and female, between the ages of 18 and 75.

[For more information or to learn how you might be able to participate, visit this link or call 734-677-6000, option 4, to speak with a research nurse].