New treatment could bring relief to migraine sufferers

(Image credit: iStock)

published 2 March 2015

Researchers at the Albany Medical Center believe they may have found something to help people who suffer from excruciating migraines.

"Migraine headaches are one of the most common, debilitating diseases in the United States, and the cost and side effects of medicine to address migraines can be overwhelming," Dr. Kenneth Mandato, the study's lead researcher and an interventional radiologist at Albany Medical Center, said in a statement. For the treatment, clinicians put a catheter through the patient's nasal passages and administer lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion, the nerve bundle behind the nose that is tied to migraines.

"Administration of lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion acts as a 'reset button' for the brain's migraine circuitry," Mandato said. "When the initial numbing of the lidocaine wears off, the migraine trigger seems to no longer have the maximum effect that it once did." Following the procedure, researchers found that 88 percent of patients said they needed less or no additional medication for ongoing relief.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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