Means and method for the treatment of migraine headaches

DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention is a means and method for the treatment of migraine headaches for those patients who experience a distinct aura before the actual occurrence of the symptoms of the migraine headache.
It is estimated that approximately 40% of all migraine patients have a distinct aura that is a precursor of a migraine headache.
Approximately half of these patients have a visual aura that typically begins as a small pattern of scintillating colored lights that have the appearance of wiggling worms.
Over a time period of between 20 and 30 minutes, the pattern enlarges until it occupies nearly the entire visual field.
During this time period, the patient might also completely lose part of his visual field.
At the end of this visual aura, most migraine patients have a severe headache that is often accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and other unpleasant feelings.
Many migraine patients who don't have a visual aura have some other precursor of a migraine that can be perceived from minutes to hours before the actual start of the headache.
The visual aura is a result of the spatial progression of a band of brain cells that are excited in that band across one half of the brain's occipital lobe.
This band moves in an anterior direction at the rate of approximately 2-5 mm per minute.
It is this excited band of neurons of the brain that produces the scintillating colored lights that are perceived by the patient as an aura that is a precursor of a migraine headache.
Behind this leading band of excited neurons, a spreading region of neurons with depressed electrical excitability occurs.
This phenomenon is known as "the spreading depression of Leao".
It is believed that if the advancing band of excited neurons can be stopped before the aura has completed its 20 to 30 minute time duration period, the migraine headache will not occur.
One way to stop such an advancing band of excited brain neurons would be by imposing a high enough electric current through these neurons so that they become depolarized