The handheld device is placed at the back of the head, and disrupts the "electrical storm" that is believed to bring about migraines with a gentle pulse.
A team of scientists based at the Ohio State University Medical Center reported positive results during a study, with more than two-thirds of the participants stating they had no pain or only slight discomfort after treatment. Test results for the TMS will be presented at the American Headache Society conference in Los Angeles today.
Three hundred TMS units are now being produced for a nationwide study, scheduled to take place before the TMS will be commercially developed. If tests continue to show promising results, the device could be available to the public by the fall of 2007, with an approximately $1,850 price tag, and a further $10 cost for each treatment.
Christina Sidebottom, a U.K. resident who tried the hairdryer-sized magnetic device, claims the treatment could transform her life. "Before [the treatment], I was pretty much resigned to going to bed with a lot of pain," she said.
According to neurologist Dr. Yousef Mohammad, one of scientists who worked on the Ohio study, the device is effective. "The device's pulses are painless," he said. "The patients have felt a little less pressure. These are very encouraging results."
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