According to the American Migraine Foundation (AMF), migraine is estimated to affect more than 37 million people in the U.S., however, a large, comprehensive, multicenter patient registry and biorepository has not existed until now.
“We still have a long way to go in advancing the care of migraine patients,” says ZS Associate Principal Lisa Bance. “Advancing care includes better diagnostic tools, greater awareness of the disease, better tolerated and disease-specific treatments, and a greater sensitivity to the impact of the disease on the lives of those with migraine.”
The American Registry for Migraine Research (ARMR) is developing more than a typical patient registry, a migraine biobank, to facilitate genetic understanding of migraine, and the discovery of blood biomarkers that will aid in the diagnosis and identification of new treatments. It also collects clinical information over time, including an electronic diary that allows patients and their providers to track their progress in real time, and it provides researchers with insight into how migraine affects patients’ daily lives.
ARMR also leverages machine learning. “Advanced analyses of ARMR data will allow for the discovery of important information that couldn’t have otherwise been detected with simple analytical tools,” said Dr. Todd Schwedt, the co-director of ARMR.
According to AMF’s chairman and the registry’s co-director, Dr. David Dodick, it’s “one of the most comprehensive registries ever built for this disease.”
“While the research potential of this registry is enormous, it also has the very real potential to improve patient care,” Dr. Dodick says. “Physicians and other healthcare providers will now have historical and up-to-date information on their patients at their fingertips,” which will aid in diagnosis and treatment.
“We also hope that this registry improves disease awareness around the world, attracts more clinicians and scientists into the field, and fosters collaborative research by making the database available and open to investigators around the world.”
Sources
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-migraine-registry-offers-hope-for-patients-300636166.html
- https://www.armr.org/
