New treatment makes migraines vanish

FOX 32 NEWS - There’s new hope for people who suffer from migraines.

"It's awful. It's excruciating, you don't have a life, you're just existing and then in addition to that you're living in fear,” said migraine sufferer Christine Spiller.

It’s something that even Doctor Danny Sugimoto suffers from.

"It's a very severe pain, often times throbbing occurring on one side of the head, often times behind the eye,” Dr. Sugimoto said. “You'll do anything to get rid of that pain."

At the Cedar-Crosse Research Center in Chicago’s South Loop, a study called ‘Promise One’ is hoping to give migraine sufferers the relief they've been looking for.

The drug is called ‘ALD403.’ It's given to a patient through an I-V once for an hour, every three months. 

It is now in phase three of the trial before it goes to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. That approval could come in the next two to three years.

But for potential trial patients like Spiller, the drug could be a life line.

"It for me would mean to get my life back. That's what it means to me. For me to live and not just exist which is what I've basically been doing,” Spiller said.

The reason Spiller feels this way is because of the stats. One of the studies looked at people with chronic migraines, meaning someone who has at least 15 per month.

"On treatment a third of the group saw a 75 percent reduction in migraine headaches. And about ten percent, one of ten, showed about a 100 percent...they stopped having migraines. So, it's pretty impressive,” said Dr. Sugimoto.

Spiller is hoping to join the study, even at risk of receiving placebo over the actual drug.

“There are so many people that are waiting on this. There are so many people that are suffering like I am. There are some people that are worse than I am. But this is an awesome thing. And if they can get it out to people, this can change people's lives,” Spiller said.

Migraines occur in up to 15 percent of the adult population.