Millions of people who suffer from migraines may soon be able to banish the pain by holding an electronic "zapper" to the back of their head.
A US study has found that patients who use it experience considerable relief.
Neurology researchers from Ohio State University Medical Centre present their findings on the experimental device - not yet approved in the US or the UK - at the annual American Headache Society meeting in Los Angeles today.
In the study, 69% of patients who used it when the early stages of a migraine appeared reported that the pain disappeared or was only mild two hours later, compared to 48% in a placebo group.
Migraines are a common medical problem affecting up to 15% of the UK population, the majority of them being women. Currently, the most common treatments are headache pills and stronger drugs known as triptans.
Neuralieve, a Californian company that manufactures the "zapper", say it is based on the science of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a method that has been used extensively in brain research and has a safe record.
Migraine sufferers usually first report "seeing" showers of shooting stars, zigzagging lines and flashing lights, and experience loss of vision and weakness. These symptoms are known as auras and warn of a migraine that can drive chronic sufferers to bed and a darkened room.
The TMS device sends a magnetic pulse into the brain, which interrupts this initial "electrical storm" and stops it turning into a full-blown migraine, which includes throbbing head pain, nausea and vomiting.
In a statement issued by Ohio State University, the neurologist Yousef Mohammad said that patients in the study reported a significant reduction in nausea, noise and light sensitivity after using the device.
"Perhaps the most significant effect of using the TMS device was on the two-hour symptom assessment, with 84% of the episodes in patients using the TMS occurring without noise sensitivity. Work functioning also improved, and there were no side effects reported," Dr Mohammad said.
