• Gianni Allais, Marco Romoli, Sara Rolando, Castagnoli GabellariIlariaI, and Chiara Benedetto.
• Women's Headache Center, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Turin, Via Ventimiglia 3, 10126, Turin, Italy. gb.allais@tiscali.it
• Neurol. Sci. 2010 Jun 1; 31 Suppl 1: S185-7.

AbstractThe needle contact test (NCT) is a diagnostic technique useful to identify, through the contact of the needle on the skin of the ear, the most efficacious points for reducing pain during a migraine attack. The aim of this study was to identify the most important auricular zones for pain control by applying the NCT in a group of 15 women during a unilateral attack of migraine without aura. We also assessed how effective the insertion of a semi-permanent needle in these zones was in reducing the migraine pain during the next 24 h. The most effective tender points in pain control were located on the antero-internal part of the antitragus, the anterior part of the lobe and the upper auricular concha ipsilateral to the side of pain. The insertion of a semi-permanent needle in these zones allowed stable control of the migraine pain, which occurred within 30 min and persisted at the same levels 24 h later (ANOVA for repeated measures: p < 0.01). Pain was tested by using a visual analogue scale; the values recorded were the following: 7.6 +/- 1.6 at baseline and 4.3 +/- 1.7; 4.1 +/- 1.9; 3.9 +/- 1.8; 3.4 +/- 1.8; 2.3 +/- 1.6 after, respectively, 15, 30, 60, 120 min and 24 h.

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