Drugs/Therapy

Wireless Device Can Ease Headaches Just as Good as Drugs Can

By Joie M Gahum | Update Date: Mar 06, 2017 08:30 AM EST

A wireless device that equips electromagnetic stimulation may be the solution for treating migraines. The device is a patch that can be worn on the arms and is reportedly capable of reducing migraine pains by 50 percent.

A preliminary study on the wireless patch device that can potentially reduce pains brought by migraines and potentially treat the condition is under preliminary studies of the American Academy of Neurology. The pain reduction achieved using the wireless device is said to be similar to the pain reduction experienced by patients taking medications, Men's Health shares.

The study published early this March reveals that the results of initial experiments that this new device is indeed a possible non-drug treatment for migraines. It has no side effects and can be used at work or even in social settings, Science Daily reports.

The author of the study, David Yarnitsky, MD, at the Technion Faculty of Medicine Haifa Israel is the maker of the stimulation device. The wireless patch uses electrical stimulation to block pain signals from reaching the brain.

The wireless patch is made up of rubber electrodes and a chip on an armband. It can be controlled by a smartphone application. In the past, electrical stimulation can only be tested for people with a migraine through a device with wires attached to the head.

The study involved 71 test subjects with episodic migraines who experiences two to eight attacks in a month and has not taken any preventive medication for at least two months. They were asked to apply the device in their upper arm soon after the start of a migraine and use it for about 20 minutes. They are not allowed to take medications for migraines for two hours after doing so.

They device will then randomly give either placebo or sham, stimulation at a very low frequency as programmed. Electrical stimulation from the devices is designed to be painless. A recorded 299 migraines were treated during the testing of the device throughout the study.

Also, 64 percent of the subjects experience a reduction of pain by at least 50 percent for two hours after the treatment, compared to the 26 percent of people during the sham stimulation. Results of the experiments were similar to that of Triptan, a medication used to treat a migraine.

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