A recently-released study presents a new handheld device which instantly makes migraines disappear, with the simple push of a button.

It is called a transcranial magnetic stimulation device (TMS) and the way it functions goes as follows: the magnetic pulses it transmits cause the interruption of the neurons’ “hyper-excitability,” considered by some specialists to be the cause of migraines.

Yousef Mohammad, MD, neurology professor and principal investigator in matters concerning the study at Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, said this is a new approach on the annoying and sometimes persistent problem, reached by newly found information. The study’s results will be presented during the American Headache Society annual meeting that takes place in Boston next week.

According to one of the Society’s reports, there are currently some 35 million US residents suffering from migraines.

201 people, with ages ranging from 18 to 68, were involved in the study. They had to use an electronic diary to record their migraines’ and pain levels’ evolution. 164 patients managed to finish the study, earnestly writing down the way their migraines occurred and how they evolved after having used the device.

In order to maximize the study’s relevance, some of the participants were given the real device, while others took home an identical machine that did not emit any pulses. In the end, 39% of the patients who used the real device said that after two hours, the pain had passed; the ones using the fake machine only totaled a 22% efficiency. Mr. Mohammad considers the difference to be “very significant.”

A detailed presentation of these results will be featured within the upcoming annual meeting.