Migraine study seeks adolescent participants

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Migraines can be grueling, especially for teens trying to navigate school and young adulthood.

There’s a clinical trial underway for kids 12-17 with migraines.

“You’ve got kids missing school. Some kids have to end up on homebound apart from friends and school systems and healthy routine,” said Dr. Edward Henderson, pediatric principal investigator at National Clinical Research.

Henderson is part of a new trial in Richmond for kids who suffer from migraines. He says about 4% to 11% of elementary school students have migraines. That number for high schoolers jumps to 15%.

Limited treatment options exist for adolescents with migraines right now.

The organization is doing a clinical trial of Rimegepant, which is used to treat adults already under a different drug name. They’re looking for local children who suffer migraines to be a part of the trial.

“We need kids to have had at least one migraine a month that kind of really knocked them down for a couple of hours,” said Henderson. “Maybe then they couldn’t attend school. And they should have had migraines monthly for the last six months.”

The trial is in phase three, so it’s been found safe in the first two phases. It is a double-blind trial, so some participants would get a placebo. Everyone participating would have to record migraines, symptoms and what time they took the medication.

“I would love to have this medication to give to kids to prevent migraines from happening for a better quality of life or a faster, more effective intervention,” said Henderson.

For more information about participating in the study at National Clinical Research, call 804-755-2300 or visit www.pediatricmigrainestudy.com. You can also find enrollment information here.

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