New Intranasal Treatment for Migraine
New Intranasal Treatment for Migraine – A new treatment called the intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks, which may provide ongoing relief to migraine patients.
According to researchers from Albany Medical Center and the State University New York Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, NY, the SPG blocks are image-guided and offer a targeted and patient-centered treatment that can vastly improve patients’ quality of life.
Migraine patients are administered 4% lidocaine nasally, via a “spaghetti-sized catheter” inserted through the patient’s nasal passage. The lidocaine is delivered to the patient’s sphenopalatine ganglion – a bundle of nerves just behind the nose that are associated with migraines. Lidocaine is a common local anesthetic which causes numbness or loss of feeling where it’s administered, and thus relieves pain.
In the study, in which 119 migraine patients participated, one day after the treatment, they experienced a 50% reduction in pain. Nearly 88% of the patients said they were using less or no pain medication after the procedure.
According to Dr. Kenneth Mandato, the study’s lead researcher, after the SPG block (lidocaine) wears off, the migraine trigger seems to have less of an effect than it did previously. However, Dr. Mandato says that SPG blocks are not a cure for migraines but just another temporary option for chronic headaches, but since the treatment is safe and minimally invasive, patients can have the SPG block multiple occasions if needed.
A migraine headache can cause pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head, and is often accompanied by other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and intense sensitivity to light and sound. Migraines can last from a few hours to days, and can be severely debilitating. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, 36 million men, women, and children in the United States suffer from migraines.
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