--- title: Migraines: Scientists Hail New Lidocaine Treatment description: The procedure involves administering lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion, a nerve bundle behind the nose associated with migraines. canonical: https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-02T06:35:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:47.403Z article:section: Health og:title: New Treatment For Migraine Shows Promise og:description: Researchers say the procedure drastically reduces pain and sensitivity to migraine triggers og:url: https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9cfeb42b786e282/698781a055a8594b54a86175/headache.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 485221893 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Treatment For Migraine Shows Promise twitter:description: Researchers say the procedure drastically reduces pain and sensitivity to migraine triggers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9cfeb42b786e282/698781a055a8594b54a86175/headache.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A New Treatment for Migraines Is Showing Promising Results ## Video: Google Working On Wearable Tech & Pill To Catch Diseases [Watch (HLS stream): Google Working On Wearable Tech & Pill To Catch Diseases](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DPSiDAV1.m3u8) (1:52)  _Published 2014-10-29. Google X — the team behind Google’s self-driving cars and glucose-measuring contact lenses — wants to tackle disease detection and prevention now._ by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Mar 2, 2015 6:35 AM UTC  Woman with head in hands Woman with head in handsGetty Images by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Mar 2, 2015 6:35 AM UTC Treating migraines effectively might have gotten a lot easier, according to a [new study](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150301092136.htm) published this month. Researchers at the Albany Medical Center claim that a new innovative treatment offers chronic migraine sufferers prolonged relief from the debilitating headaches. During the procedure, clinicians insert a spaghetti-size catheter through the patient’s nasal passages and administer lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion — a nerve bundle behind the nose that is associated with migraines. It should be noted that no needles actually touch the patient during the process. “When the initial numbing of the lidocaine wears off, the migraine trigger seems to no longer have the maximum effect that it once did,” said Dr. Kenneth Mandato, the study’s lead researcher at Albany Medical Center. Following the procedure, 88% of patients reported that they required less or no migraine medication to provide additional pain relief. \[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150301092136.htm)\] _Read next:_ [_8 Things You Don’t Know About Supplements_](http://time.com/3712325/supplements-vitamins/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) Migraines: Scientists Hail New Lidocaine Treatment ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/"},"headline":"A New Treatment for Migraines Is Showing Promising Results","datePublished":"2015-03-02T06:35:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:47.403Z","description":"The procedure involves administering lidocaine to the sphenopalatine ganglion, a nerve bundle behind the nose associated with migraines.","url":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/","keywords":["Research","health","migraines","headaches"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9cfeb42b786e282/698781a055a8594b54a86175/headache.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9cfeb42b786e282/698781a055a8594b54a86175/headache.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"485221893","caption":"485221893","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/","name":"A New Treatment for Migraines Is Showing Promising Results"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Google Working On Wearable Tech & Pill To Catch Diseases","description":"Google X — the team behind Google’s self-driving cars and glucose-measuring contact lenses — wants to tackle disease detection and prevention now.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/DPSiDAV1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-29T14:30:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DPSiDAV1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/","duration":"PT1M52S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3727990/migraine-new-lidocaine-treatment/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```