Magnetic Stimulation May Ease Migraine Pain (press release)

[Guest guest]

Magnetic Stimulation May Ease Migraine Pain (press release)

_http://www.naturalnews.com/020160.html_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/020160.html)

 

 

A magnetic device that seems to help depression and seizures may also

short-circuit migraine headaches in their earliest stages, a new study finds.

The transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device, about the size of a hair

dryer, was able to interrupt the development of migraines, according to data

to be presented Thursday at the American Headache Society's annual meeting,

in Los Angeles.

The study was funded by the device's maker, NeuraLieve, of Sunnyvale, Calif.

 

About 28 million Americans suffer _migraine headaches_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/migraine_headaches.html) and about 20 percent

experience _migraine_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/migraine.html) with aura, characterized by changes

in vision before the actual pain begins.

Scientists now believe that migraine attacks start because of nerve cell

hyper-excitability, which is followed by fatigue and malfunction of the _nerve

cells_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/nerve_cells.html) , or neurons. These

phases seem to correlate with the aura.

" This process spreads throughout _the brain_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/the_brain.html) and the end result is the throbbing

headache, " said Dr. Yousef

Mohammad, principal investigator of the study and an assistant professor of

neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center.

" If we can interrupt this with two pulses of magnetic stimulation, we can

abort the headache, " he added.

The TMS device used in this study is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration as an investigational device. It sends an electric current

through

a metal coil, creating a magnetic field that activates nerve cells in the

brain.

The study involved 43 people who had _migraines_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/migraines.html) with aura and were randomly picked

to receive either TMS or

treatment with a _placebo_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/placebo.html) device.

Participants were instructed to give themselves two pulses to the back of the

head at the first sign of an aura.

Seventy-four percent of people in the TMS group said they had no or only a

mild headache two hours after using the device, compared with 45 percent in

the control group. Participants also reported a reduction in noise and light

sensitivity: 74 percent of people in the TMS group experienced a reduction in

light sensitivity while 75 percent experienced less noise sensitivity. In the

placebo group, only 20 percent or so experienced such reductions.

A larger study of TMS involving nine medical centers and 200 patients will

begin next month, Mohammad said.

Another study presented at the meeting found that the anti-seizure

_medication_ (http://www.naturalnews.com/medication.html) Topamax (generic name

topiramate) provided relief to people who have migraine _headaches_

(http://www.naturalnews.com/headaches.html) virtually every day.

The drug is approved by the FDA for prevention of migraine headaches, but

had not been specifically studied in migraine sufferers who also experienced

chronic daily headaches.

About 4 percent of U.S. adults, or nearly 9 million people, have headaches

15 or more days a month, known as chronic daily headache.

For this study, more than 300 patients were randomly chosen to receive

Topamax or a placebo for 16 weeks. The study was funded by the drug's maker,

Ortho

McNeil Pharmaceutical.

At the end of the study period, 41.2 percent of people taking Topamax had

fewer headaches or days with headaches, compared to 28.8 percent in the placebo

group.

Half of the people in the Topamax group had a 40 percent or greater

reduction in migraines or days with migraine. Headache severity was also

reduced

significantly in the Topamax group.

There were, however, side effects in the Topamax group: 29 percent of these

patients experienced numbness or tingling in the hands or legs, compared to 7

percent of those in the placebo group.

" It's extraordinarily important that not only headache frequency decreased,

but also severity, " said Dr. Stephen Silberstein, study author and director

of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in

Philadelphia. " It's important to have a medication that works for

difficult-to-treat patients. "

 

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[Guest guest]

Most interestng. We've seen magnet-use come and go. It fell from

acceptance in the past 10 years badly; now it's back. I've been a

believer and user of magnetics since 1972. Because of the poo-pooers

and trouble-makers who yell 'quack', most users are quiet about it.

Hopefully OSU can help the public awareness and advise judicious-use.

 

, surpriseshan2

wrote:

>

> Magnetic Stimulation May Ease Migraine Pain (press release)

> _http://www.naturalnews.com/020160.html_

> (http://www.naturalnews.com/020160.html)

>

>

> A magnetic device that seems to help depression and seizures may also

> short-circuit migraine headaches in their earliest stages, a new

study finds.

> The transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device, about the size

of a hair

> dryer, was able to interrupt the development of migraines,

according to data

> to be presented Thursday at the American Headache Society's annual