HELD electronic device that emits electromagnetic waves relieves migraine pain before it even begins, a new study says.The study, conducted at The Ohio State University Medical Center, found that the device can eliminate pain when used as a migraine is beginning to develop. Out of 164 patients who received treatment, 39 per cent reported being pain free two hours later, compared to 22 per cent of subjects who received placebo treatment, CTV News reported, The device, called a noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS), interrupts the aura, or beginning, phase of the migraine. It does this by sending an electric current through a metal coil, which creates an intense magnetic field. When that magnetic pulse is held up to a person's head, it creates an electric current in the neurons of the brain that disrupts the aura. The aura often clues a migraine sufferer in to the fact that a headache is on the way. Migraine patients describe it as like an electrical storm in the brain, and can lead a sufferer to see visions such as shooting stars, zigzagging lines, flashes of light and spots. This period of migraine can also cause weakness or a tingling sensation in the body. “Because of the lack of adverse events in this trial and the established safety of the TMS device, this is a promising treatment for migraines with aura,” Dr. Yousef Mohammad, a neurologist and principal investigator of the study at Ohio State's Medical Center, said in a statement. “This sets the stage for future studies in migraines without aura.” The findings were presented Friday at the annual American Headache Society meeting in Boston.
