Migraine isn\u2019t just a headache, she added, it\u2019s a spectrum disorder with significant impacts on quality of life and productivity. According to the World Health Organization, migraine is the most frequent neurological disease.\n<\/p>\n
Read: Webinar coverage: How employers can support employees with migraine<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Advances in genetics and neuroscience have led to a deeper understanding of migraine, said Leroux, culminating in the development of a new class of treatments known as calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibitors, she said, noting these medications have been described as the CGRP blockade, a breakthrough offering improved effectiveness and tolerability.\n<\/p>\n CGRP blockers, which are strongly recommended by the Canadian Headache Society, have helped some patients experience nearly complete control of their migraine, she said, which is an outcome that was previously unheard of.\n<\/p>\n Despite these advances, there\u2019s no cure for migraine. Instead, the hope is migraine freedom, which Leroux described as a patient\u2019s life being free from the massive impact of attacks.\n<\/p>\n Not all patients respond to the first medication they try, she added, and some may experience side-effects. In these cases, physicians must be able to switch treatments, sometimes trying several options before finding the most effective one. This process doesn\u2019t necessarily increase costs, noted Leroux, since patients will discontinue ineffective medications in favour of those that work better for them.<\/p>\n