New FDA-Approved Nasal Spray Can Zap Migraines Within 15 Minutes

By Yehudit Garmaise

The 10% of people worldwide who suffer from head-pounding migraines may soon find quick relief from a newly approved nasal spray that promises relief within 15 minutes.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) just approved a nasal spray called “Zavzpret,” which should be sold in pharmacies by July. 

Migraines often involve throbbing head pain that can last for hours or days and may involve extreme sensitivity to light and sounds, nausea, vomiting, and visual disturbances, reported CNN, which also reported that people who get migraines often get less sleep than those who do not get the terrible headaches.

While setting regular sleep schedules that provide adequate sleep often can help prevent migraines, patients need medication that works fast once they strike.

“Among my migraine patients, one of the most important attributes of an acute treatment option is how quickly it works," says Dr. Kathleen Mullin, the associate medical director at New England Institute for Neurology & Headache.

Nasal sprays usually deliver migraine medication more effectively than tablets because migraines often cause people to suffer from such significant nausea that they cannot swallow pills.

In addition, nasal sprays deliver the medication quickly to help patients’ bodies absorb the drug, which helps them reduce the inflammation causing intense pain.

While many of the other migraine pills that are already available work by blocking a protein the brain releases to cause inflammation, Zavzpret is the first nasal spray to do so.

In two studies in which people with migraines did not know whether they were getting Zavzpret or a placebo, which is a fake “medication” without any active ingredients, many more patients who received Zavzpret reported their migraine pain was cured within two hours, compared to the patients who received the placebo, reported CNN.

Although CNN also reported that Zavzpret can cause some possible side effects, such as [more] nausea, nasal discomfort, and an altered sense of taste, Dr. Mullin said the drug can help migraine sufferers “get back to normal function quickly.”

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