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Worth reading through the full article to get all the info.


Quote:

Results showed that the Emgality group saw a significant difference in their weekly attacks compared with placebo. Between Weeks 1 and 3 of the two-month treatment period, those receiving Emgality had 8.7 fewer cluster headache days vs. 5.2 fewer days for placebo; (p=0.36). Three out of four participants (76%) who were treated with Emgality had at least a 50% reduction in weekly cluster headache attacks compared to 57% for the placebo at Week 3, the secondary endpoint. Also, 73% of patients treated with Emgality reported improvements based on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) at Week 4, compared to 46% for the placebo.

Interesting results when you compare the effects to the placebo, with placebo doing pretty well when you consider that there is no active pharmaceutical, with all changes being due to the power of the mind.

Every single advance will help some people with CH get to lead more normal lives as a result.

Give me a bucket full of that placebo!!!

With a success rate of  46-57%  it beats the pants off any medication I ever tried!

AussieBrian wrote on Jun 6^th, 2019 at 4:59am:

Give me a bucket full of that placebo!!! With a success rate of  46-57%  it beats the pants off any medication I ever tried!

It isn't always that simple. Placebo treatments are associated with side effects, even withdrawal effects!

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Whats strange about this approval is the testing period appears to have been for 2 months, and episodic clusters lasting for 2-10 weeks average...

So in some of these sufferers their cycles likely were degrading naturally, and were taken as the result of the drug

This could be why it 'works' for episodics and not chronics.

I think in some cases even with other treatments that 'seem' to work, its actually the cycle degrading naturally.  :o

Just a thought.

Hi AGeNT_1212 and welcome

Well spotted too. We all know how a lot about CH can vary, which can include cycle duration, so I can see your logic as to why it "works" for episodic but not chronic CH.

Its probably why the placebo was also 'effective'

Thanks for the welcome, I'm actually quite ye ole vet on the message boards, here and CB.  8-)

O2 FTW  ;D

AGeNT_1212 wrote on Jun 12^th, 2019 at 1:13pm:

Its probably why the placebo was also 'effective'

Placebos are virtually always effective for some people, this is not unique to the experiment design or the condition being treated. Similarly people getting a placebo will often get a range of side effects which are attributed to the placebo.

It can be incredibly interesting reading up about the placebo effect and the complexities it can introduce to good trial design and results analysis.