Magnetic impulses against migraine

Magnetic impulses against migraine: In a study in 267 migraine subjects, US researchers have alleviated the pain in an acute migraine attack without side effects by using magnetic impulses.

About 10 percent of people in Germany suffer from migraine. Migraine is three times more common among women than among men. About 20 to 30 percent of migraine sufferers have aura symptoms in addition to headaches.

The migraine patients participating in the study also complained about the phenomenon of the aura. This is a condition that usually precedes the actual headache and is characterized by tunnel vision, photosensitivity and light spots on the eyes, tingling in the extremities (arms and legs), nausea and speech impediment.

In the study, in the journal „The Lancet Neurology“ published, the scientists sat around Professor Richard B. Lipton from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, in 18 centers in the US called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). They gave the subjects powerful impulses to the brain with a magnetic stimulation device - the TMS method is already being tested in the fight against tinnitus, Parkinson's disease and depression. A control group got a placebo.

As a result, 39 percent of the headache was significantly better in the group that received the magnetic stimulation. However, the control group also reported a fairly high positive balance of 22 percent. The sooner the treatment started, the more successful it was.

So far, migraine patients relied on help in the form of tablets. If over-the-counter anti-pain and anti-inflammatory drugs do not help, then triptans are usually the drug of choice. These are agents that narrow the blood vessels in the brain and reduce the pain and inflammatory response. Side effects may include a short-term increase in blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, circulatory disorders, feelings of tightness and musculoskeletal pain. Although most of these symptoms are very rare, TMS is a less toxic side-effect. This could be a real alternative to previous treatments. For this, the researchers would have to have the still quite large magnetic stimulation device, to make a small transport size for traveling. Furthermore, it should now be clarified in further clinical tests, if a larger or stronger number of pulses increases the effect. It is believed that the magnetic impulses affect electrical currents in the human brain that are related to migraine. (Thorsten Fischer, Naturopath Osteopathy, 04.03.2010)

To read more:

The study
Migraine: increased heart attack and stroke risk
Less migraine attacks in pregnancy