Posted on 03/14/2023 9:08:10 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Patients with "blinding" headaches known as Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension (IIH) could be treated with an injectable peptide used for type 2 diabetes, a new trial has found.
The study reports on a phase two trial of a drug called exenatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, as a potential treatment for IIH.
The IIH Pressure Trial found that for the seven patients who received regular injections of the drug, currently approved for use in Type 2 Diabetes, led to a drop in pressure in the brain during both short (2.5hrs and 24hrs) and long term (12 weeks) measurements.
The trial also saw significant reductions in the numbers of headaches across the 12 weeks that participants took part, with an average of 7.7 fewer days per month of headaches compared to the baseline, compared to only 1.5 fewer days in the placebo arm.
There are no current licensed drugs to treat IIH and hence this result is a major step forward for IIH patients.
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) is a debilitating condition that raises pressure in the brain and can lead to chronic headaches and even permanent sight loss.
Once regarded as rare, incidence of IIH is now rising dramatically. Currently there are no licensed drugs options and existing medications used off label are complicated by troublesome side effects.
A key finding was the rapid action of the drug, with results indicating that brain pressure was significantly reduced within two and half hours of taking the medication. This rapid onset of action is vital in a condition which can cause rapid blindness.
The drug was given as a twice daily injection into the subcutaneous tissue. To reduce the need for frequent injection in the future a once weekly subcutaneous injection called Presendin will be trialed though University of Birmingham Start-up company, Invex Therapeutics.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
It would seem this drug could help with glaucoma, which is tied to brain pressure, in my understanding.
Question, is IIH a new name for the incurable and terrible condition known as ‘cluster headache’?
I’ve suffered with them my whole life until they started to wane recently.
Currently on the market as Byetta or Bydureon.
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension is the new name for Pseudotumor Cerebri. I’m not sure I’d put much faith in a paper that calls it “intercranial” [sic] in the opening paragraph. Can no one afford copy editors?
Thanks for the info.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.