Implantable Devices Are Not A Panacea, But The Ability To Relieve Migraine Attacks

Implantable Devices Are Not A Panacea, But The Ability To Relieve Migraine Attacks.
An implantable plot covert in the nape of the neck may excellent more headache-free days for people with severe migraines that don't respond to other treatments, a unknown study suggests. More than 36 million Americans get migraine headaches, which are marked by perfervid pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea and vomiting, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. Medication and lifestyle changes are the first-line treatments for migraine, but not one and all improves with these measures.

The St Jude Medical Genesis neurostimulator is a short, all skin and bones strip that is implanted behind the neck. A battery bunch is then implanted elsewhere in the body. Activating the device stimulates the occipital nerve and can crepuscular the pain of migraine headache. "There are a large number of patients for whom nothing works and whose lives are ruined by the circadian pain of their migraine headache, and this device has the potential to help some of them," said scan author Dr Stephen D Silberstein, director of the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia.

The study, which was funded by monogram manufacturer St Jude Medical Inc, is slated for debut on Thursday at the International Headache Congress in Berlin, and is the largest study to date on the device. The partnership is now seeking approval for the device in Europe and then plans to submit their data to the US Food and Drug Administration for sanction in the United States.

Researchers tested the new device in 157 populace who had severe migraines about 26 days out of each month. After 12 weeks, those who received the restored device had seven more headache-free days per month, compared to one more headache-free day per month seen amongst people in the control group.

Individuals in the control arm did not receive stimulation until after the anything else 12 weeks. Study participants who received the stimulator also reported less severe headaches and improvements in their dignity of life. After one year, 66 percent of people in the study said they had ripping or good pain relief.

The pain reduction seen in the study did fall short of FDA standards, which whoop for a 50 percent reduction in pain. "The device is invisible to the eye, but not to the touch". The implantation course of action involves local anesthesia along with conscious sedation so you are awake, but not fully aware.

There may be some forbearing pain associated with this surgery. Study co-author Dr Joel Saper, collapse and director of Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor, and a associate of the advisory board for the Migraine Research Foundation, said this therapy could be an important option for some bodies with migraines.

And "There were numerous patients who did benefit in terms of pain control and quality of life. We don't have any in every case effective therapies for migraine, so we don't ever expect everyone to have noticeable results, but for those few that it works in, it's life-changing".

But "it is surgical and there are risks to surgery, and there are unknowns such as how big the effects will last". Risks of the new neurostimulation procedure may include infection and the widget can sometimes dislodge.

Saper has not received any compensation from the device manufacturer. "Occipital nerve stimulation is a therapy of great promise for patients with intractable chronic migraine," said Dr Richard B Lipton, pilot of the Headache Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and a directorship member of the Migraine Research Foundation.

He is not affiliated with the new study. "Eliminating a glaring week per month of headaches is a huge gain for chronic migraine sufferers and translates into big improvements in care satisfaction and quality of life. This treatment will make a huge unlikeness for millions of migraine sufferers with chronic migraine".

The results do mirror what Lipton has seen in his practice. "This shows that the healing can give chronic migraine sufferers their lives back".

Dr Robert Duarte, chairman of the Pain Center at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, NY, said that the supplemental device should not be considered a first-line treatment for migraine, however. "You paucity to be evaluated by a headache specialist, and make sure all treatment options are tried before installing a stimulator, but it is an recourse and there is definitely evidence that it works".

Duarte is not affiliated with the new study. "It is not a cure, but a curing option that can reduce frequency and intensity of headaches in some people" revivogen affects libido. Doctors can also do a trial run using an exotic stimulator to see if it will work before implanting the device.