Dr. Avnish jolly, Chandigarh:The device delivers a therapy known as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS. It sparks a magnetic pulse that, when held against a person’s head, creates an electric current among the nerves cells of the brain. This device is hand-held that painlessly sends a magnetic pulse into the head may offer some migraine sufferers relief, a small study suggests.
Migraines strikes without warning in most cases, some people experience an aura stage, which is marked by visual disturbances, like flashes of light or zigzag lines, or other sensations such as tingling or numbness. This, in turn, disrupts migraines in the "aura" phase, before they trigger pain.
Recent study, researchers recruited 201 patients suffering from migraine with aura, then randomly assigned them to use the TMS device or a "sham" device the investigators used for comparison. Patients were instructed to apply the device over the site of the migraine, at its beginning.
The researchers found that after two hours of treatment, 39 percent of the TMS patients were pain-free, versus 22 percent of patients using the sham device.
Dr. Yousef Mohammad, Ohio State University, Columbus, reported the findings Friday at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society, underway in Boston and reviled this is a much better response than is achieved with any other method or medication that we have.
Mohammad explained, TMS essentially interrupts the "electrical storm" that culminates in migraine pain by interfering with the aura phase of migraine. In some study patients, the treatment also eased migraine-related symptoms of nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
Mohammad also shared that we have never received this kind of response with any currently available migraine medication or device. Sunnyvale, California-based NeuraLieve, the manufacturer of the TMS device used in the study, funded the work. Mohammad serves on the company’s board of directors.