Aug 21, 2009 4:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: New Migraine Headache Treatment
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Just turning on the lights can send 26-year-old Sarah Keiser into a painful episode.
"It goes from my eye like a lightening bolt back through my head. It's very sharp and painful," said Sarah.
There are many common triggers for her migraine headaches, including food like peanuts and her all time favorite chocolate.
"It was really hard when I discovered it was one of my triggers," said Sarah.
When they strike, even simple things like playing with her dogs or reading becomes impossible.
"I've tried everything, and nothing worked," said Sarah.
Until she turned to Dr. Stephen Silberstein at
Jefferson's Headache Center, where they're testing a revolutionary migraine treatment that's inhaled.
"You take a deep breath, it activates and the material goes into the lungs and within 10 minutes, you get headache relief. The medication is dihydroergotamine, or DHE," said Dr. Silberstein.
Until now, DHE has only been available as an injection. The inhaled version is called Levadex, and the
Jefferson study showed it works just as well.
"The drug gets rapidly absorbed into the lungs and into the bloodstream," said Dr. Silberstein.
That gets the medication into the brain and nerves to stop the pain, without causing any serious side effects.
"It worked really well," said Sarah.
Now she can be on a computer, not worried it will bring on a migraine. And is even headed back to the beach with her husband. Sunshine is no longer dreaded.
"This is a life saver, I can live my life," said Sarah.
Jefferson is starting the final phase of testing for the inhaled migraine medication, and is looking for volunteers.
RELATED LINK:
Jefferson Headache Center
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