Study Shows Magnet Therapy Eases Migraines

Sunday, December 07, 2008 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: migraines, health news, Natural News

(NaturalNews) A device that delivers two short magnetic pulses may help decrease the severity of migraines, according to a study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University-Columbus and presented at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Boston. The study was funded by NeuraLieve, manufacturer of the device.

Researchers studied 164 patients who suffer from migraine with aura, a specific type of migraine that is foreshadowed by certain sensory effects including tingling, numbness, or visual disturbances such as flashes of light or zigzags. The participants were instructed to hold a device, approximately the same size and weight as a hair dryer, to their heads and pull the trigger when they experienced an aura coming on. For half the participants, this was a sham device that did nothing. For the other half, it was a device that delivered a magnetic pulse known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Patients recorded the symptoms and intensity of their migraines, with follow-up entries at 30 minutes and one, two, 24 and 48 hours after that.

Two hours after aura onset, 39 percent of participants who used the TMS device reported being pain free, compared with only 22 percent of those in the placebo group.

"This is very significant," said researcher Yousef Mohammad, who sits on the board of NeuraLieve. "This is a much better response than is achieved with any other method or medication that we have."

Previous studies have found TMS to be effective when applied by health professionals, but the current study is the first to show that a TMS device can be effectively used by the patients themselves, such as in their own homes.

"I believe that TMS will become an important treatment option, particularly for migraine with aura sufferers who want to avoid medications," said researcher Richard Lipton.

Researchers believe that TMS functions by suppressing the abnormal electrical brain activity that causes migraines.

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com; www.immunesupport.com.