The American Migraine Foundation is seeking funding to create the first-ever Migraine Patient Registry and Biorepository.
The foundation, a nonprofit organization supported by the American Headache Association, hopes this international database will help to boost migraine research and lead to new treatment breakthroughs. According to the foundation, all patient information, including brain images, physical samples of saliva, blood, biological and genetic material will be made available for migraine research.
“We hope to be able to assemble a treasure trove of data that researchers can access to find powerful clues to migraine causes and treatments. The data collected in the registry will also help treatment providers tailor existing therapies to specific types of migraine,” said David W. Dodick, MD. chair of the foundation, in a press release. He is also a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn.
The foundation says that research is underfunded – migraine affects 36 million Americans. There has been one class of migraine drugs, triptans, developed in the past 30 years.
“Although progress has been made in understanding the characteristics of many primary headache disorders, large-scale, long-term studies are needed to better explain disease processes, genetic factors and indicators of the progression of disease,” Dr. Dodick said. “A combination patient registry and biorepository will make these studies possible.”
painmedicinenews.com
1/14/15