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Electromagnetic 'gun' stopping migraines
Researchers hope device can also treat epilepsy

Elizabeth Hodgson
National Post


Wednesday, August 04, 2004







A neurologist at McMaster University is developing a gun-like object
that delivers electromagnetic pulses to the brain in an attempt to
relieve the debilitating pain brought on by migraine headaches.

Adrian Upton aims to make the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
device quell the storms of neurological activity typical of a migraine
that result in visual distortions and a throbbing head.

Yousef Mohammad, a medical doctor at Ohio State University and one of
the researchers overseeing the clinical trials of the device, says the
mechanism works by "disrupting the electrical signalling systems between
brain cells, dulling the surge of nervous impulses that cause the pain."

Dr. Upton and his researchers also think the technology may work for
epilepsy, a sister disease to migraines.

Early tests have shown the TMS device stops even the worst migraines in
their tracks.

"A migraine is an electrical firestorm that's slowly moving through the
brain," said Dr. Mohammad. "The TMS device also delivers electrical
pulses. It's fighting fire with fire."

Currently, the most common treatment for this powerful type of headache
is either standard, over-the-counter analgesics or, for more severe
sufferers, a group of drugs called triptans -- which mimic the effect of
serotonin.

Triptans are effective for about half of those for whom they are
prescribed. They also come with such side effects as dizziness, flushing
and chest tightness.

According to Dr. Mohammad, about 40% of sufferers have no relief from
the pain. And among the analgesic users, there is a high incidence of
dependence.

"About 18% of women and 8% of men out there are suffering migraines,"
said Scott Fischell, a spokesman for NeuraLieve, the company sponsoring
the clinical trials for the TMS device. "There are 350 drugs to treat
them. And none of them work."

Lifelong migraine-sufferer Michael John Coleman, a health advocate and
executive director of the National Migraine Association, welcomes the
idea of a drug-free treatment.

"We're willing to embrace any kind of innovation. Migraneurs [people who
suffer migraines] have been misdiagnosed and over-medicated. I was
prescribed two drugs that, had I taken in combination, would have killed
me. It was my pharmacist that noticed the mistake. Another well-meaning
physician put me on something called Midrin, combined with Prozac. I
gained 90 pounds in 100 days."

Three different clinics are involved in trials of the device, with half
the subjects using the TMS and the other half a placebo. Once all the
data is in, NeuraLieve will seek FDA approval.

"If all goes well," said Mr. Fischell, "we'll have something on the
market within a year or two."

The electric waves delivered by the TMS device have been described as
painless, even pleasant.

Magnetic pulses have had scattered use over the past couple of decades
in treating depression and epilepsy. But results have been mixed and the
practice never caught fire. Recently, doctors began taking a second look
at the treatment when Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain scans
showed some success in curing headaches.

More information on the TMS device will be available in the fall when
Dr. Upton publishes his research on the technique in Neurology journal.

C National Post 2004