A cluster headache is a severe headache that can cause excruciating pain on one side of the head, often felt around the eye. The extremely painful headache, which affects nearly 110,000 people in the UK, is one of the most debilitating conditions known to medical science.
Now, sufferers in the UK will be offered a hand-held device that delivers mild electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve to block the pain signals that causes the headaches, without the need for pills. The gadget, known as gammaCore, can also treat migraines, but is being rolled out initially for cluster headaches. It is applied to the neck to deliver a small electric current for two minutes at a time.
The cutting-edge gadget is one of a raft of new treatments, tests and procedures funded by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) that aims to help patients receive rapid access to the best, proven health innovations available today.
