An Attractive New Option? Magical Magnets For Migraine Patients

A recent research indicates that a number of migraine sufferers might be able to evade medication by zapping away migraine pain before it starts with a hand-held magnetic device!

Researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center have designed a unique electronic device Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a hair dryer-size device which has capacity to send out short magnetic impulses to the brain.

Many studies have shown that electromagnets can be used to speed the healing of bone fractures and relieve chronic pain.

The researchers in this case hypothesized that the magnetic field pulses could short-circuit the pain signals in the brain.

"I think for migraine, it's extremely likely that this [device] will become part of the therapeutic armamentarium," said Richard Lipton, M.D., lead editorial author and professor of neurology, epidemiology and social medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. "I think for some people who don't like taking prescription medications ... or for people who have side effects to these drugs, this will prove to be a very useful option."

According to the researchers the device is safe and effective.

In the new study, researchers did an analysis on 201 patients of "migraine with aura" (a kind of migraine).

"Migraine with aura" –experienced by 20 to 30 percent of total migraine sufferers-- is generally accompanied by vivid visual disturbances, or blind spots and other neurological symptoms such as numbness, weakness or unsteadiness.

Researchers found that 39 percent of those who used TMS were pain-free two hours after using the device.

The new device could prove to be a significant invention for the migraine patients as it can contribute to the treatment of migraine in three ways.

Firstly by identifying and avoiding certain headache triggers, ranging from diet to the amount of sleep and exercise a person gets. The second one is an acute treatment, in which a patient takes medication -- generally a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or a prescription pain reliever -- at the onset of a headache.The third one is a preventative treatment for those who suffer from severe migraines on a more or less daily basis, wherein a patient takes prescription medication every day to avoid a headache from ever occurring.

"It's important to stress that this is a preliminary study, not one of the final, large, pivotal studies which change the course of our thinking," Joel Saper, M.D., one of the researchers involved in the study and director of the Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich., cautioned.

This uncertainty can be because of the fact that the rootcause of migraine is still unknown. Therefore doctors cannot ensure 100 per cent treatment of migraine every time that it occurs.

"The research is promising, and if [this technique] comes to continued success in further studies, then it will help some people who don't benefit from other therapies or can't benefit from other therapies, and maybe even expand into other areas where these treatments may be helpful," Saper said.

"I think the TMS device definitely will and should join the treatment arsenal for migraines, and probably many other problems such as superficial sprains or fractures," Woodson Merrell, M.D., chairman of the department of integrative medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City said.