New Study Shows CEFALY Activity on Head and Neck Muscles in Chronic Migraine Patients

Clinical trial shows further evidence FDA-approved migraine prevention device relaxes head and neck muscles

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Jun 25, 2015, 08:30 ET

NEW YORK, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CEFALY Technology, the creators of the first FDA-approved transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation device, specifically authorized for use prior to the onset of migraine pain, has published a study from a new electromyography clinical trial on chronic migraine patients that shows the Cefaly device reduces tension in the neck and head. The study is published in Neurological Sciences, the official journal of the Italian Society of Neurology. It offers significant data for migraine sufferers who often indicate their pain begins in the back of the neck and works its way up to the head.

"The more precise measurements we can gather, the more specifically we can engineer relief for migraine sufferers through drug-free, cranial neurostimulation," said Dr. Pierre Rigaux.

Electromyography (EMG) is a diagnostic procedure used to assess the health of muscles and the motor neurons (the nerve cells that control them). These motor neurons transmit electrical signals that cause muscles to contract. By measuring these contractions, Cefaly was able to track its effect on these hyper-specific areas. The results show that on average, the frontalis muscle in the head and the trapezius muscle in the neck experienced a decrease. Additionally, the results confirm that neurostimulation of the first branch of the trigeminal nerve can also activate peripherical muscles that are far from the area of the electrical stimulation. This is a promising finding since it indicates relief may have a ripple-like effect from the entry source of the neurostimulation to other parts of a patient's aching head.

"This is an interesting study that reinforces the understanding of the device based on a double cumulative action of the central and peripheral areas," said Dr. Rigaux, chief executive officer of CEFALY Technology, the maker of the device.

Twenty-three patients, ranging in age from 20 to 76, participated in the study. On average the participants had experienced 20 migraine days per month. More than half of the migraineurs (14) had been overusing their medications. The EMG patients were monitored before and during neurostimulation.

In addition to this study, CEFALY Technology conducted another study as part of EUROHEADPAIN, a major European research project focused on migraines, using a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan, which is an imaging test of the brain, that used a radioactive substance called a tracer to show how the brain and its tissues are working under the influence of a Cefaly®. That data was presented in May at the Midterm Meeting of the International Headache Society Congress in Spain. It showed that the Cefaly device returns normal metabolic activity to some cortex areas in the brain in migraine patients.

Cefaly has been available in the U.S. since mid-March 2014, when the FDA approved the prescription-only, headband-like, device that uses tiny electrical impulses to stimulate the trigeminal nerve to reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines.

About CEFALY Technology
CEFALY Technology is a Belgium-based company, with US offices based in Darien, Connecticut, specializing in electronics for medical applications. It has developed external cranial stimulation technology for applications in the field of neurology; in particular for treating migraines. http://www.cefaly.us/

Media Contact: Maria Coder
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SOURCE CEFALY Technology