Page 15 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_May-2018

At the Hospitals
n Have a Migraine?
There’s an App for That
Are you one of the millions of people who
suffer through recurring migraines? Russ
Bodner, MD, an Atrium Health neurologist,
discusses how patients can manage their
migraines using the MigrnX™ app to better
understand their frequency patterns, the
triggers behind their symptoms, medication
effectiveness and the severity of their migraines. and the severity. They are then prompted to
A headache isn’t always a migraine
So, what is a migraine? “A migraine is a
type of headache that is disabling in some
fashion — it inhibits someone’s level of
functioning,” says Dr. Bodner. The most
common symptoms include one-sided
throbbing pain, light and sound sensitivity,
and nausea. In certain cases, an estimated 15
percent of migraine sufferers experience a
migraine with an aura. People who experience
this type of migraine associate the aura with
visual disturbances, such as seeing sparkles or
experiencing tunnel vision.
To combat these symptoms, consult your
doctor about medication options. Medications
used to treat migraines fall into two broad
categories: pain-relieving medications (also
known as acute or abortive treatment) and
preventative medications. “Typically, patients
would want to use an abortive agent — a
medicine they would take when the migraine is
coming on,” says Bodner. “If people are having
lots [of migraines], we look at preventatives.”
Introducing MigrnX™
The good news for migraine sufferers? The
MigrnX™ app is here to help. MigrnX™,
released by SensorRX in 2017, is the first
automated migraine management tool that
directly impacts patients’ care. More than 500
patients at Atrium Health already are using
the app as an electronic version of a migraine
diary, which provides clinicians with the data
necessary for better treatment.
“Atrium Health and SensorRX share
the largest clinically-integrated electronic
database (clinical integration is key to
treatment), which is increasing by thousands
of headache reports each month,” says George
McLendon, PhD, founder of SensorRX and
vice president of therapeutic research and
development at Atrium Health.
In just a few clicks, patients are able to
electronically record when they are having a
migraine, the symptoms they are experiencing
check off the medication they are using and
how it affected their migraine. The app also
allows patients to record other possible triggers,
like if they are menstruating, are not getting
enough sleep or have eaten something outside
their usual diet. Even further, the app records
environmental triggers that may affect migraine
patterns. “The app automatically is recording
the barometric pressure, the weather, the light
in the room, and sound, to detect environmental
triggers,” says Bodner.
But that’s not all. Every three months,
the app automatically prompts users to
participate in a routine migraine disability
assessment (MIDAS) test to determine the
extent to which migraines are affecting
everyday life, such as asking whether or not
they have missed work/school days or are
lacking in productivity. The history of past
assessments are stored within the app and
users are given the option to share the results
with their physician by either printing a PDF
report or sending their records via email.
How do I get the app?
“Right now, all Atrium Health neurology
staff can give the app to patients they feel have
an appropriate need,” says Bodner. Patients
can download MigrnX™ for free from the
App Store or Google Play, but they need to
consult their physician for an access code in
order to log their information. From there,
patients can record their migraine information
in just four clicks. MigrnX™ then stores all
recorded information, allowing users to view
their headache archive on a calendar to help
them better identify headache frequency and
associated patterns.
“An ongoing collaboration between
SensorRX engineers and Atrium Health has
created an integration where patients may
share data with their provider directly into the
electronic medical records (EMR), ensuring
the best diagnosis and care,” says McLendon.
Mecklenburg Medicine • May 2018 | 15
n First Septic Shock Treatment Saves
Child’s Life
This February, Atrium Health’s Levine
Children’s Hospital became the first clinical
trial site in the world to test a new medicine for
children that can stabilize their blood pressure
in life-threatening situations.
For 8-year-old Lucas Judy, the timing
couldn’t have been more perfect.
Just weeks after LCH was approved
to participate in the trial, Lucas was
clinically diagnosed with the flu. With
an uncontrollable cough and fever, and
increasingly shallow breathing, he was
admitted to Levine Children’s Hospital.
Within 24 hours, he was transferred to the
pediatric intensive care unit.
A potentially deadly combination of
influenza, pneumonia and a bacterial
superinfection had caused Lucas to develop
septic shock. He was put on a ventilator and
given two special medications (vasopressors)
to maintain his blood pressure, which had
fallen to dangerously low levels.
Enter LJPC-501.
Developed by La Jolla Pharmaceutical
Company, LJPC-501 was approved last
December to increase blood pressure in adults
with shock who have low blood pressure despite
receiving current standard-of-care therapy. But
it had not yet been tested in children.
Because Lucas’s condition fit the
requirements for this investigational drug,
LCH doctors thoroughly explained the
study to his family, and they consented to
his participation.
Within three hours of taking LJPC-501,
Lucas’s condition had stabilized, and he was
able to come off all vasopressor support.
“Lucas was an extremely rare scenario,” says
Dwight Bailey, DO, specialty medical director
of pediatric critical care at LCH, who treated
Lucas. “But even though there are relatively few
patients who don’t respond to the standard of
care, we believe we can save lots of lives with
this therapy.”
As the study lead for the trial, Dr. Bailey is
hoping to enlist 10 additional pediatric intensive
care units across the country to enroll about 30
more patients. LJPC-501 has yet to be approved
for children outside of the study.
The first child to receive this medication
for his condition, Lucas is expected to make
a full recovery.