36-million Americans, about 12% of the population, suffer from migraines. Today, there's good news about a potential new treatment.
In a small Belgian study, a wearable nerve stimulator provided good migraine relief.
The device is placed on the forehead, and delivers electrical stimulation to the supraorbital nerve.
67 migraine sufferers took part in the study. The first month they weren't treated at all. Then, for the next three months, they received either electrical stimulation 20 minutes a day or sham stimulation where levels were too low to have any effect.
People who received the real stimulation had fewer days with migraines in the third month of treatment compared to the first month with no treatment. The number of days with migraines fell from 6-point-9 days to 4-point-8 days per month, a 30% decrease. And there were no side effects from the stimulation. The number did not change for those who received the sham treatment.
Larger studies are still needed to confirm the positive effects of the stimulator treatment, but researchers say the device appears to provide hope.
I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news doctors are reading; health news for healthier living.
Source: www.nlm.nih.gov
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