Study Finds Ear Acupuncture No Better Than Placebo

Migraines are much more than bad headaches. An attack often brings pounding pain on one side of the head, nausea, and strong sensitivity to light and sound. Scientists now link migraines to a network of nerves and blood vessels in the head. When it goes wrong, nerve fibres release a chemical called CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide), which switches on the brain's pain network. An attack has four stages and often begins a day earlier with yawning, tiredness or unusual food cravings. About 30 percent of people then experience an aura, with visual or speech problems, before pain lasting up to 72 hours.

The World Health Organization (WHO) lists migraine among the ten most disabling conditions worldwide, and women are affected at least twice as often as men. Alexandra Sinclair, a neurology professor at the University of Birmingham, says stigma has long delayed proper treatment. Drugs that block CGRP have transformed care in the past five years, but remain expensive and hard to get. Christina Dalla, who chaired the FENS Forum, warned that ear stimulation should add to existing treatments, not replace them.