A migraine sufferer in the Netherlands has become the first in the country to be fitted with an implant to mitigate the effects at the Erasmus MC teaching hospital in Rotterdam.

The implant, which consists of two thin electrodes embedded under the skin in the front and the back of the skull, was developed by Dutch company Salva BioElectronics, and works by sending electronic pulses to the nerves involved in migraine.

“In migraine the signals sent out by the nervous system are out of balance. The implant may help correct this,”  professor of anesthesiology at the Erasmus MC Frank Huygen said.

The implant is aimed at mitigating the effects of migraine and reducing the frequency of the attacks, the company said. The same method, called neuromodulation, has been used successfully in people with epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

The therapy could be a game changer for people whose migraine is not helped by medication, anesthesiologist and trial participant Harold Nijhuis said. “It has already been shown to help in people with cluster headaches, and a small pilot study among migraine sufferers has been promising,” he said.

Some 5% of people in the Netherlands suffer from migraine. “Most patients are young and often female. Many of them are experiencing little or no relief from pain medication which means they are often unable to work or have a social life. It sometimes even stops people from starting a family,” said neurologist Hans Carpay, who was not involved in the research.

If the new technology proves successful, the implant will not replace existing anti-migraine medication, Carpay said. “The main message is that we have to continue to look for solutions,”  he said.