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Tag "treximet"

Treatment of menstrual migraines often is more difficult than of non-menstrual attacks.  A double-blind study by Marcelo Bigal and his collaborators just published in Headache shows that a combination of 10 mg of rizatriptan (Maxalt) and 4 mg of a steroid medication, dexamethasone (Decadron) is more effective than either drug alone.  Both drugs are effective in treating many refractory migraine attacks (although I usually use 8 mg of dexamethasone), this is the first trial of two drugs together.  While the results are not very surprising, the study may lead to wider acceptance of combination therapy and better relief for many women.  While in the past the emphasis was placed on finding a single drug to treat a disease, in recent years combination therapy has become a standard approach in many conditions.  Treximet, a combination of sumatriptan (Imitrex) and naproxen (Aleve) was also shown to be better than either of the two ingredients alone.

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Treximet, a new migraine treatment was approved today by the FDA.  Treximet is a combination of two old drugs – sumatriptan (Imitrex), 85 mg and naproxen (Aleve), 500 mg.  The combination is more effective than Imitrex alone because naproxen provides additional relief through its anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects.  Imitrex is losing its patent protection and is going to be available as a generic drug in 2009.  The maker of Treximet, GlaxoSmithKline is hoping to switch most of the patients currently taking Imitrex to Treximet before patent expiration, in order to reduce its losses to generic competition.  However, it is likely that insurance companies will force physicians to prescribe generic Imitrex and generic naproxen rather than pay for Treximet.  GSK argues that the combination drug, just like Imitrex are fast-dissolving and therefore faster acting drugs than the generic naproxen is and the generic Imitrex is going to be.

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