Neurostimulator Implants And Migraines

One out of every eight people suffers from migraine headaches. There is currently no treatment available to eliminate the condition; doctors merely help patients manage the symptoms. A new treatment is being tested that may offer more pain relief than any other method to date for migraine sufferers.

In September 2006, reports began surfacing about a surgical procedure that may help migraineurs. Dr. Sandeep Amin, an anesthesiologist at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, Illinois, is pioneering a radical new treatment.

Dr. Amin is studying the potential of a treatment he calls “occipital nerve stimulation”. The treatment calls for the implantation of a small neurostimulator in the neck. This device sends electrical impulses to nerves under the skin at the base of the head at the back of the neck.

The device being used Dr. Amin’s nationwide, double-blind study is the Boston Scientific Precision neurostimulator. The Precision neurostimulator is the smallest rechargeable, implantable neurostimulator on the market (as of 2006) and is already FDA-approved for spinal stimulation for chronic pain treatment.

If the study is successful, it offers new hope to migraineurs, particularly those who have found their pain resistant to currently available treatment modalities.

Dr. Amin’s study is not the first. In 2004, Medtronic, Inc., a medical technology company, conducted a study of occipital nerve stimulation for migraines using one of their own devices. The study was initiated after a Dallas doctor successfully used the experimental treatment to relieve pain for a migraineur. A review of the company’s website, www.medtronic.com, showed no information on the study, making it likely that, for whatever reason, the 2004 study was unsuccessful.

Dr. Amin states that his treatment is not for everyone, and, if it is successful, recommends it only for patients who have been unable to achieve pain relief through medication or other, more common, treatment methods.

Pediatric Migraines

Children get migraines, too, they are not a condition confined to adulthood.. Studies have even indicated that infants may get migraines, but this is hard to verify.

Current estimates indicate that up to 10% of children between 5-15 years old suffer from migraines, increasing to 28% in the 15-19 age range. Migraine headaches have a real impact on quality of life for children. The high percentage of children that experience migraines makes them a top childhood health problems.

Diagnosing pediatric migraine is similar to diagnosing adult migraines with a few notable exceptions. The International Headache Society’s criteria states that the headache must last 4 to 72 hours. Children’s migraines are generally shorter and this fact needs to be taken into account when attempting to diagnose them. Adult migraines are frequently one-sided, but children’s frequently involve pain on both sides of the head. These headaches should not be dismissed just because they are not one-sided.

For most child migraineurs (people suffering from migrainous headaches) the headaches begin between 5 and 11 years of age. Prior to puberty, the number of male and female children with migraines is roughly equal. After puberty, girls are considerably more likely than boys are to have migraines, most likely due to the same hormonal issues that make the number of adult women migraineurs three times that of the men.

Many child migraineurs are fortunate enough to have their condition disappear during puberty or upon reaching adulthood. However, people who have migraines as children are much more likely to become adult migraineurs than those who did not have them as a child.

Adult migraine sufferers should watch for migraine symptoms in their children, particular if the other parent also experiences migraines. A child with two migraineur parents has a 70% chance of becoming a migraineur.

Common Migraine Food Triggers

No one knows for sure what causes migraine headaches. The most likely to answer to-date is that a serious of small irritations or reactions pile up until, finally, a migraine headache is triggered. Migraine triggers are different for each individual, but many migraineurs claim that a particular food or combination of foods will push them over the edge into a headache.

Keep in mind that most science disagrees with migraineurs when it comes to food triggers. There are no conclusive studies indicating a link between certain foods and migraine headaches, so all information is anecdotal. The thing is there is a lot, tons in fact, of anecdotal evidence for the link.

While a migraine trigger food can be, quite literally, anything, some foods come up on the trigger list for enough people to merit discussion.

Cheese

Cheese is a major trigger for many migraineurs. Particularly likely to cause an attack are hard or aged cheeses. Soft cheeses like cream cheese and new cheeses seem to be fine and unlikely to cause problems.

Processed Meats

Nitrates are believed by many to be a major migraine trigger. For most people, the most common source of nitrates is processed meat, items like hot dogs, sausage, bacon, processed lunchmeats, etc.

Condiments

Salad dressings are a trigger for many. The reason is not known, but is probably tied to a combination of other triggers all coming together in one place.

Spices and Additives

Any spice can be a trigger. Spices as triggers may be tied, at least partially, to scent sensitivity, since many spices have a pungent odor. Seasonings that seem to give migraineurs the most trouble include monosodium glutamate (MSG), common in Asian foods, artificial sweeteners, food dyes, and vinegar.

Migraineurs who suspect a food trigger should consider trying an elimination diet to pinpoint the trigger food(s).