Scottish Daily Mail

Puff of air in the ear to ease migraines

- By ROGER DOBSON

Ablast of air into the ear could be a new way to tackle migraines. that’s the thinking behind a new clinical trial in the U.s. after anecdotal reports suggested it may be effective.

the theory is that the air stimulates a nerve in the face that has branches in the ear drum; this interrupts pain signals from the blood vessels reaching the area of the brain that processes pain.

Migraines affect around one in ten people in britain, and cause severe headaches often accompanie­d by nausea, vomiting or fatigue.

attacks can be triggered by certain smells, bright lights or hormonal changes. However, the exact cause is not fully understood.

one theory i s that they are caused by blood vessels in the brain widening — a common treatment for migraine is with drugs known as triptans, which make the blood vessels narrower.

another theory is that migraine is the result of brain cells activating the trigeminal nerve, one of the main nerves in the face and which

THIS relays pain signals to the brain.

causes the release of chemicals which t hen irritate and cause blood vessels on the surface of the brain to swell.

these swollen blood vessels send signals to the brainstem, an area that processes pain informatio­n. there are now a number of migraine therapies that are designed to stimulate the trigeminal nerve and stop the pain signals reaching the brain, reducing symptoms.

the rationale behind the new technique, known as modulated air insufflati­on of the ear canal, is that the eardrum allows easy access to the trigeminal nerve.

It involves gently blowing air against the eardrum using a device called a pneumatic otoscope. this is similar to the device that is routinely used for ear examinatio­ns to check how much f l uid may be behind the eardrum. the hand-held gadget, which has a small, cone- shaped nozzle that goes into the ear, blows out air against the eardrum, which causes the eardrum to move.

While the version used by GPs only ever disperses a small puff of air, with the new treatment the air is delivered in a constant stream for up to 20 minutes.

In a new trial, scientists from the Carrick Institute in arizona in the U.s. will use the device on 25 migraine patients who will receive a single ten to 20-minute session during

a migraine attack. Patients will grade the severity of their symptoms before and after they have had treatment.

the trial follows a report published in the journal Functional Neurology, Rehabilita­tion and Ergonomics in 2013 of patients who had found the COMMENTING treatment effective.

on the technique, Dr andy Dowson, chairman of the charity Migraine action’s medical advisory board, says: ‘the mechanism of the proposed treatment is likely to work via stimulatio­n of the nerves in the ear canal and to the ear drum.

‘In migraine, the brain is oversensit­ive and easily stimulated by messages from the sensory nervous system. this technique would effectivel­y reset the signals.

‘It will be very interestin­g to see how studies go.’

MEANWHILE, a batterypow­ered plaster worn on the arm is a new way to ease migraine pain.

the single-use patch delivers the migraine drug sumatripta­n consistent­ly over four hours.

triptans help to relieve the symptoms in roughly half of cases, but some migraine patients who suffer from nausea find it difficult to swallow them.

the Zecuity patch, which is roughly two inches square, uses electricit­y to open up the pores and help sumatripta­n pass through the skin to the blood where it’s needed. the patch was recently approved for use by the U.s. drugs regulator, and could soon be available in the UK.

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