Can a gadget stop you getting a migraine?

If you’re prone to migraines you’ll know that often medication can alleviate the symptoms a little, but most of the time you have to ride out the storm on your own in a dark room with plenty of water.

Well now US-based health company Electrocore Medical has been working on a new gadget, which it believes can reduce the pain and symptoms of migraines by simply “zapping” the nerves responsible.

The gadget is part of a system called GammaCore therapy, which is a non-invasive way to stimulate the vagus nerve with an electrical signal. Many believe that by stimulating the vagus nerve in this way, you can reduce the amount of glutamate in the brain, which in excessive amounts is known to be the cause of headaches and more severe migraines.

Although the system itself and the effectiveness of sending electrical currents to the vagus nerve seems a little bit up in the air (and let’s face it it sounds CREEPY), there are plenty of reasons why using the GammaCore gadget could be much more beneficial than other treatment methods, mainly because it could well eradicate the need for taking tonnes of different medications that give some people even more painful and weird side affects.

According to Electrocore, initial trials have so far been positive, with a 50% reduction in symptoms in half of patients, so it’ll be interesting to see how this crazy Frankenstein-like electrical system fares when it’s tested on a larger sample group.

[Via Daily Mail]