The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a nerve bundle located deep in the face, behind the root of the nose. It is part of the autonomic nervous system. For over 100 years, the SPG has been a clinical target to treat severe headaches (Sluder 1908). Since Sluder first described the application of cocaine or alcohol to the SPG, the SPG has been a site for the treatment of severe headache pain, mainly applying lidocaine and other agents to the SPG to achieve a nerve block (Kudrow, Kudrow et al. 1995; Maizels, Scott et al. 1996; Maizels and Geiger 1999). The headache relief associated with these procedures is often good but short-lived, and a significant limitation is the need for repeat procedures and the difficulty accessing the SPG repeatedly. Accordingly, researchers have been focused on developing SPG therapies that don't entail repeat procedures and that don't damage the SPG. Recently, acute stimulation of the SPG was tested in patients with migraine (Tepper, Rezai et al. 2009) and cluster headache (Ansarinia, Rezai 2010). In these studies, acute stimulation of the SPG with good anatomical and physiological placement led to rapid termination of severe headache pain. The initial results using the implanted ATI SPG Neurostimulator to treat chronic cluster patients were presented at the International Headache Society congress (Schoenen, 2011).  This work highlights the promise of SPG stimulation to treat migraine and cluster headache and forms the basis for ATI's therapeutic approach.

 

CAUTION:

Investigational device. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use.