Since this blog is for clearing up misconceptions and exposing misinformation, fake claims of cures, and scams, there are times when we need to take a good look at the truth. This is one of those times.
Do you take daily medications to prevent Migraines or headaches? If so, you’re taking medications developed for other conditions. Writer and advocate Teri Robert calls these “hand-me-down” drugs. The truth is that there is not one single solitary drug on the market that was developed for the prevention of Migraines and headaches. The truth is that the NIH doesn’t allocate research funding based on how many people are impacted or the severity of the impact. The truth is that each and every one of us has the opportunity — in fact, the responsibility — to help address this deplorable situation.
The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy sent out this action alert yesterday:
Dear AHDA advocates –
The moment has arrived for you to contact your members of the US House of Representatives to take action for increasing National Institutes of Health (NIH) research on headache disorders.
Please go to the AHDA website as soon as possible to send strong but focused emails to your members of the House with just a few clicks.
Publicly funded research is the key to fundamental discoveries that accelerate drug development and expand the field of headache medicine. However, the NIH has never provided adequate funding for research on headache disorders. Currently, NIH expenditures for headache research are less than $13M annually, comprising less than 0.05% of the NIH budget. Meanwhile, headache disorders cost more than $31B in the US annually, including 9% of lost labor productivity, and result in more lost years of healthy life every year than epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and ovarian cancer combined. As a consequence of insufficient research, only two innovative drugs have received FDA approval for migraine treatment in the past fifty years.
We are requesting that the US House and the Senate each include language that prioritizes research on headache disorders with the fiscal year 2010 appropriations bills for the NIH. At this particular time, we need our members of the House to sign a “Dear Colleague” letter that they received last week.
The AHDA website simplifies contacting your members of the House with the right message at the right time. You will also be able to add a brief personal statement to your members of the House if you wish.
The more emails that members of the House receive from constituents right now, the more likely they will act upon this issue. You CAN make a difference. Let Congress know you care now.
Also, right now please forward this email to everyone you know that also cares about someone suffering from migraine or other headache disorders.
Through collective advocacy we will improve the care for individuals with headache disorders. Thanks very much for your help.
Best regards to you all,
Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD; Burlington, Vermont
William Young, MD; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Brad Klein, MD, MBA; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Teri Robert, PhD; Washington, West Virginia
Please take a few minutes to go to the AHDA web site and send an email to your representative in the House. The truth is that any U.S. citizen who doesn’t take a few minutes to do this has absolutely no right to complain about the lack of effective treatments.
To send your email, quickly and easily, just CLICK HERE.
Best,
Arabella ♥
Migraine Truth 