A generation of anti-migraine drugs with fewer side effects than existing treatments could be available to sufferers within three years.
Scientists say a better understanding of how some people's brains over-react to stimuli has contributed to the development of the new drugs.
They say the drugs herald a new era in the management of migraine.
Migraine is thought to be a hereditary illness which affects three times more women than men.
There are estimated to be six million sufferers in Britain alone and the condition is caused by an "oversensitive" brain which reacts to triggers such as fatigue, hunger, stress or the weather, with a throbbing, one-sided headache, often accompanied by nausea and visual disturbances.
Most anti-migraine drugs currently in use carry a risk of side effects, such as drowsiness, weight gain and rashes and one in five patients who take Topiramate, one of the newest of the preventative drugs, experiences cognitive problems.
Even more of a concern is that drugs such as triptans constrict the blood vessels, thereby raising the risk of heart attack and stroke in vulnerable patients.
Patients then have to weigh up the benefits against the risks and although most decide they are willing to take a chance to relieve their misery, the drugs only work in about half of cases.
One of the new drugs is a rescue treatment known only at the moment as MK0974, which works by interrupting the sequence of chemical reactions in the brain that cause a migraine.