Italian doctors have genetic "cure" for Migraine?

Question: Italian doctors have genetic "cure" for Migraine?

Answer:

Full Question:

I have had migraine headaches since 1964. I'm now 55 years old. To make this long story shorter, I've had all the traditional treatments including a week in the hospital to break "rebound" headaches associated with migraine medications. I've had all the "preventative" medicines, gone to three neurologists, tried all the migraine pain medications. There is only one thing that relieves my migraines (I'm up to two, sometimes three a day). That is a combination of a 100mg Imitrex tablet along with a Midrin or a Fiorinal with codeine. I call it my cocktail. Just the Imitrex or just the other medications alone don't do it. Since this much medication is obviously not healthy and since I have gone broke buying the medication that my insurance won't pay for, I am a desperate woman. I saw an article on MSN or one of those web sites a year or two ago that had to do with two Italian doctors (I think they were genetic specialists) who said they had the key to actually curing migraines. They said they only needed funding of about $150,000 and some drug company to sponsor them to produce and actual cure (as in gone once and for all). This was the only thing I had heard in a while that sounded even remotely hopeful. And now I can't find the information. Are you familiar with these men and their claim? At this point it would be cheaper for me to fly to Italy then to pay anywhere from $50 to $75 dollars a day for migraine medication. No one else can seem to help me. I appreciate any information you may have.

Answer:

Dear Desperate Migraineur,

It's hard to guess what you read, but doctors, Italian or otherwise, are not close to curing Migraine disease. We've followed the work of the doctors doing genetic research on Migraine disease. It's fascinating, and it's promising; but a cure is not at hand. It's highly likely that the genetic research will be used to develop effective preventive medications far before anyone is able to use it to produce a cure, and even that isn't going to happen soon.

It may seem that you've tried all the preventive medications, but since there are more than 100 of them and nearly endless combinations of them, that's virtually impossible. Please keep in mind that neurologists aren't necessarily Migraine specialists. They treat many conditions and injuries, which makes it difficult to actually specialize in any one of them. The best advice we can offer you is to seek care from a true Migraine specialist with an established track record. Many Migraineurs who believe they've tried everything find that a Migraine specialist can help them. There's a link to our directory of recommended specialists below.

Good luck,
Teri Robert and John Claude Krusz

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