Drug News
Medtronic device helps some migraine patients
By Sue Mueller
Jun 26, 2008 - 3:48:17 PM

Migraines. Credit - NIH.gov

TURSDAY June 26, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Medtronic has invented a device to treat migraines, which is claimed to be able to reduce monthly episodes of headaches in a moderate percentage of patients who did not respond to prescription medications by 50%, CNN reports.

Trial results to be presented Friday at this year's American Headache Society annual meeting show that the pacemaker-like device did a better job in alleviating pain in some migraine suffers than prescription drugs.

The device is designed to be implanted in the back of the neck to reduce pain associated with chronic migraines by sending electrical impulses through the central nervous system.

Medtronic said in a statement that it tested its device in a trial of 61 patients who experienced on average 15 or more headache days in a month and whose condition did not respond to conventional medicine.

After three months, 39 percent of patients who used the device and were able to control the pulses themselves experienced a 50 percent or more reduction in the number of month headaches.

Among those who got the device, but were not able to adjust it, only 6 percent experienced a positive effect.

In the control group of patients who did not get the device, but took the standard migraine drugs, none achieved a 50 percent reduction.

Migraines are a condition associated with hormone fluctuation more often occurring in women than men. The condition affects an estimated 28 million Americans.   CNN cited Medtronic as saying that 3 to 14 percent of suffers are not responsive to medicine.

Migraines can be triggered by allergies, stress, smokes, alcohol and certain foods including tyramine-containing foods such as aged cheese, red wine and some beans and other foods like nuts, banana dairy products among others.