HOUSTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston said Thursday a pair of treated contact lenses may soothe migraine headaches in some patients.
"It's just so counterintuitive," said Dr. Thomas Prager, the study's leader. "But we had a low-vision specialist, Kathleen Faathoff, who made an observation that these lenses can reduce migraines."
Prager designed a study in which migraine patients are assigned at random to wear either control or treated contacts during a migraine episode, the Houston Chronicle reported. The participants sit in a room with ambient light for an hour or two, and every 15 minutes they answer questions about the severity of their symptoms.
"People come in with migraines and have some very specific complaints. Generally they have unilateral, excruciating, pulsating headaches," said Prager. When patients put in treated lenses, he said, many of them report their symptoms fade.
If the lenses do work and are approved for treatment, he estimates they would be comparable in cost with regular soft contacts, and patients could pop them in if they feel an attack coming.
