RESEARCH - Magnetic stimulation block migraine pain

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Magnetic stimulation blocks migraine pain

Fri Jun 27, 2008 3:33pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A hand-held device that painlessly sends a

magnetic pulse into the head may offer some migraine sufferers relief,

a small study suggests.

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, in turn, disrupts migraines in the " aura " phase, before they trigger pain.

Though migraines strike 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.

For the new 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 onset.

The researchers found that two hours after treatment, 39 percent of

the TMS patients were pain-free, versus 22 percent of patients using

the sham device.

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Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSKEN77038720080627

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Not an MD