A new non-medicinal treatment gives hope for curing chronic migraines, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital announced after clinical trials on 15 patients showed positive results.
In one case, a woman who had had migraines for 20 years was cured in about a month using intravascular laser irradiation of blood (ILIB) therapy, the hospital said.
The method has long been used to treat a variety of conditions, including chronic pain, autonomic nerve disorders, cognitive dysfunctions and even strokes, but new research by the hospital suggests it could also treat chronic migraines, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation director Chang Shin-tsu (張幸初) told a news conference on Nov. 17.
Photo: CNA
The woman, surnamed Lee (李), said that when she visited the clinic in October, she had been experiencing debilitating migraines at least once a month for 20 years.
At its worst, the pain would extend down from the left side of her head to her ear, making her dizzy and nauseous, Lee said.
She would lose sleep due to the sudden pain, which often came in the middle of the night or during meal times, she added.
However, doctors have been unable to find the cause, suggesting only pain medication for treatment, Lee said.
“I just thought this was my life, devoid of happiness,” she said.
After undergoing ILIB, Lee reported a marked improvement that has brightened her outlook on life.
Chang said he initially thought Lee would need three rounds of ILIB, based on previous trials, but she already showed positive results after two.
ILIB is an intravenous treatment in which a patient’s blood is “sunbathed” in low levels of laser radiation to stimulate interactions between molecules, Chang said.
Doing so can regulate mitochondria numbers and metabolic activity, improve stress and pain responses, and improve oxygen-carrying capacity, he added.
In the case of migraines, the therapy appears to help by restoring circulation in the frontal lobe, he said.
One round involves 10 one-hour treatments over 10 days, Chang said, adding that a patient can undergo the next round after resting for one to three weeks.
Considering its promising effects, the hospital said it would add more ILIB rooms to serve people across the Kaohsiung area.
However, Chang said that medication is still the best way to treat mild headaches, while those who have recently had a stroke or have epilepsy should not undergo ILIB therapy.
Additional reporting by Hsu Li-chuan
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS