A patch that delivers electricity to a patient’s nervous system through their upper arm appears to be a promising remedy for migraine sufferers, according to a newly released clinical study led by a Hartford HealthCare headache physician.
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A patch that delivers electricity to a patient's nervous system through their upper arm appears to be a promising remedy for migraine sufferers, according to a newly released clinical study led by a Hartford HealthCare headache physician.
The Nerivio Migra is a noninvasive medical device being developed by Israel-based Theranica, which hopes to begin selling it late next year, pending regulatory approval.
Electrical or “neuromodulation” treatments are an evolving area in headache science, with companies vying to replace medication with safer and potentially more effective alternatives for the estimated 35 million to 40 million migraineurs in the United States. Placed discretely underneath a shirt sleeve, the Theranica device differs from several neuromodulation devices already on the market, which are applied to the head or neck.
This month at an annual symposium of the American Headache Society, Theranica released the results of a randomized, double-blind clinical trial that tracked 252 acute migraine sufferers who used the device.
The study, led by principal investigator Dr. Brian Grosberg, director of the Hartford Healthcare Headache Center in West Hartford, found that the Nerivio Migra produced statistically significant beneficial results for patients in several key areas that were measured.
“The study endpoints cover all the main clinical benefits that are really important for patients,” Grosberg said.
The most important finding was that nearly 67 percent of patients felt pain relief two hours after receiving treatment, compared to less than 39 percent who received a placebo treatment. The odds of that result happening by pure chance are remote — just one in 10,000 — giving it strong statistical significance, according to the study.
Also of significance, two hours after treatment, more than 37 percent of patients reported being free of migraine pain entirely, and more than 46 percent reported feeling relief from nausea and light sensitivity.
“We at the headache society, as well as our migraine patients throughout the nation have been waiting a long time for this — a drug-free acute treatment for migraine that really works well,” Grosberg said.
