New prevention drug for migraines trialled at Great Western Hospital
Swindon has a high population of people affected by migraines
Last updated 5th Jun 2025
A research team at Great Western Hospital (GWH) is trialling a new treatment for adults with migraines.
The drug prevents migraines by directing the treatment straight to the neurotransmitters and pathways in the brain that cause the symptoms.
Research by The Migraine Trust suggests that people in the UK lose a total of 43 million days from their work and education each year because of migraine.
Dr. Alexandre Mathy, consultant neurologist at GWH and Oxford University Hospitals, told Greatest Hits Radio: “There is a need for treatment is because it's such a common disease and it's one of the leading causes of disability in the world.
“So, while we are able to treat patients with some of the older treatments, we need treatments that work for those patients, we haven't been able to treat in the past.”
Around 10 million adults in the UK are estimated to be affected by migraines.
While many people associate the condition with strong headaches, other symptoms have to occur as well for a migraine diagnosis to be made.
“A severe headache is part of that syndrome, but typically patients will have other symptoms”, explained Dr Mathy.
“They may have aura where they get odd visual disturbances just before they get the headache, and then they get light sensitivity or sound sensitivity.
“The characteristic of migraines can be very disabling, so you may not be able to concentrate, and you may not be able to work. And you may feel hungover for a few days after the headache.”
Balancing efficacy and side effects
Migraines can be treated in two ways – by tackling the symptoms, for example with pain killers, and by trying to prevent them, which is what Dr Mathy’s drug aims to do.
Other prevention treatments have been around for years but breakthroughs in understanding the biology behind it are now allowing researchers to direct the treatment straight to the responsible neurological pathways in the brain.
“The preventer drugs have traditionally been drugs that have been developed for other indications but happen to work in migraine. They can work very well, but the side effect profile of those drugs has been hard to tolerate for some patients.
“So, what we're finding with some of the newer migraine preventers is that they're much more tolerable and patients can have benefits to their migraines as well as not feeling sedated or dizzy or the other side effects you might get from the other drugs”, Dr Mathy added.
“It's that balance of efficacy and side effect that we're trying to improve in migraine.”
As the drug has already been approved, the aim of the trial is to give the research team more insight into its efficacy in a real world setting instead of in a clinical trial.
The information the team is gathering will help them better understand side effects as well as ensure they can make well-informed decisions about which treatment works for a patient.