Thursday, April 10, 2008

New Ways Stop (Abort) Migraines – Will they be showing up in garage sales?

Each day I read of a new “device” that claims to be able to stop a migraine headache. Migraineurs may already be familiar with the “migraine skull cap”, “special headache ice packs”, eye covers, pillows, music, and the list goes on. Today Apr 10th, 2008, I read in the Baltimore Sun another report about a new TMS unit being studied for use in aborting migraines.


In the migraine study, subjects place the 3-pound device at the back of the head when they feel a headache beginning. The press of a button sends two high-frequency waves into the brain. The lead investigator in the trial, Richard Lipton, a neurologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, says the pulses act as a kind of "reset" switch that stops the electrical storm causing the migraine.” Baltimore Sun


A three pound device on the back of the head – need I say anything about what additional pain that may cause a person who is already having a throbbing headache - not to mention that many migraineurs already suffer from neck and shoulder pain. Perhaps some sort of back pack carrier is in the works.

I am certain Dr. Lipton is a well respected neurologist, but I would differ in his assessment that a migraine is caused by an electrical storm in the head. Our research, and the hypothesis from which we operate in our work to help migraineurs at Tuliv, demonstrates that the reason a person gets migraines is directly linked to his or her genetics (family history of migraines.

More conclusively, DNA that appears to carry the propensity for migraines has been reportedly isolated within the mitochondria of specific hormone producing cells. This genetic condition seems to play an influential role within the cell in the creation of an overabundance of the actual chemical that does ignite the migraine process that causes the pain in the head. All of these events, which are controlled through the endocrine system, come into play during times of hormone fluctuation in the body.

In other words, if your ancestors had migraines, then you have a very good chance of also having migraines during your lifetime.

In my opinion, it is better to seek prevention than to spend time and money trying to find new ways to abort migraines. By the way, according to the article, a round of treatments with the TMS typically runs between $5,000 and $7,000 and the effects may not last more than a few days or weeks.

Don’t ever give up - Migraines Can Be Prevented.

Lyle

Tuliv Migraine Research

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