Migraine sufferers who choose to opt out of drug treatment can now turn to a new treatment for migraine headaches. In a study published last week in The Lancet Neurology, a team of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that 40 percent of patients were pain-free two hours after using a hand-held transcranial magnetic stimulation device (sTMS).

"As a method, sTMS has been used in humans for over 30 years," says lead researcher, Richard Lipton. "It's a long-standing, well-established technique, which has already received FDA approval for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes."

The goal of this research is to gain FDA approval for the sTMS treatment of migraines; currently, it is approved for depression treatment, brain mapping and measuring brain excitability, says Lipton.
Lipton and his researchers conducted a double-blind study with more than 250 American patients, ages 18 to 68. All of the people involved met the international criteria for migraine with aura, some of which include seeing spots, zigzag lines and grayed vision, he says.

One group was given sTMS, using a three-pound, hand-held device. The control group was given placebo treatment with a sham device. Both devices were the same size and made clicking noises and vibrations, but only one emitted a magnetic field. Lipton declared his team's creation of a sham device successful because 80 percent of both groups thought they were getting the actual treatment.

sTMS works by penetrating the skull and treating the underlying brain tissue with a magnetic field, he explains. Lipton chose to try this treatment on migraine with aura sufferers, who represent only about 25 percent of all migraine sufferers, because theory suggests inducing a current at the surface of the brain might disrupt cortical spreading depression (CSD), which triggers the aura phenomenon. Disruption of the aura, which precedes a migraine, would prevent the headache from coming on, he says.

The actual treatment takes less than a minute, but results were based on how patients felt at least two hours after applying the device.

There have been previous studies using table-top sTMS devices, which are available for medical offices. These findings mean migraine with aura sufferers could soon purchase a hand-held device to use in their home or office as needed, explains Lipton.

The study was funded by Neuralieve, a medical technology company that is leading the way in portable, non-invasive sTMS neurological treatment, says Terri Baker, Neuralieve's vice president of marketing. The company holds a patent for hand-held sTMS treatment.

More Industry Headlines