A new study has revealed about a procedure that alleviates the pain associated with migraines. The new treatment known as image-guided, intranasal sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) blocks could now provide relief from unbearable headaches to migraine patients.

Radiologists from the from Albany Medical Center in collaboration with the State University New York Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, NY, who tested the interventional radiology treatment found that a single treatment can reduce migraine pain levels by about 35% nearly a month after the procedure.

For the study, a research team led by Dr. Kenneth Mandato, a radiologist in Albany, focused the pain levels and migraine symptoms on 112 patients who had an average age of 45 years.

All had been diagnosed with either migraines or another type of intensely painful and recurrent headache known as cluster headaches. Before the procedure, patients were asked to assess the pain levels on a scale from 1 to ten.

The researchers inserted a spaghetti-size catheter through the patient’s nasal passages and administered lidocaine (Xylocaine), a local anesthetic agent Meckel’s ganglion. The ganglion is nerve bundle behind located at the back of the nasal cavity that is associated with migraines. The treatment involved both nostrils and their sets of nerves.

Following the procedure, 88% of patients reported that they required less or no migraine medication to provide additional pain relief. They also found that migraine pain levels had dropped to an average of 4. Pain scores reached an average of just over 5 by the one month post-procedure mark.

However, the researchers stated that the SPG block should not be considered a cure for migraines, but a temporary solution, which is much like other existing treatment options for chronic headaches.