£450 'brain-stimulating' headband cuts period pain by half, fights PMS and boosts low mood, claim makers... but does it really work? We ask the experts
A 'groundbreaking' gadget to help women beat debilitating period symptoms will be available to Brits for £450 from August.
The device, worn as a headband, zaps the brain for 20 minutes with small electrical pulses to block pain signals.
This, in theory, targets menstrual pain and cramping as well as mood instability without the need for medication, according to Samphire Neuroscience — the London-based start-up behind the product.
Studies commissioned by the firm suggest the Nettle decreased women's pain by 53 per cent and improved mood by a third in as little as a month.
However, experts today cautioned its effectiveness 'will be difficult to truly assess'.
The device, worn as a headband, zaps the brain for 20 minutes with small electrical pulses to block pain signals. This, in theory, targets menstrual pain and cramping
Studies suggest women who tried the Nettle device saw average pain decrease by 53 per cent and low mood symptoms improve by a third in as little as a month
The gadget, which is powered by rechargeable battery, is targeted at women aged 25 to 45.
It is controlled via a mobile app, and can cause a 'tingling' or 'itching' sensation but the manufacturer insists it is safe.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), characterised by distressing physical, behavioural and psychological changes, is estimated to affect almost a third of all women.
Symptoms include mood swings, depression, fatigue, irritability and aggression. Bloating, breast tenderness, headaches and weight gain are also common.
Regular sleep, meals and exercise are lifestyle changes purported by the NHS to improve symptoms.
Cognitive behavioural therapy – CBT — as well as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), most commonly prescribed for depression and anxiety, and the combined contraceptive pill are other treatments GPs currently recommend.
Dietary supplements and acupuncture can also be taken but the health service notes 'evidence of their effectiveness is limited'.
Samphire Neuroscience claims its device can fix this.
Worn as a headband, the gadget is designed to be used at home for five days before a user's period begins.
Small electrical pulses are delivered through electrodes on the device to brain regions where fluctuations to neuron levels occur during the premenstrual period.
This stimulates the brain and causes 'neuroplasticity' — the brain's ability to mend and build connections between nerve cells.
This, in theory, targets the side of the prefrontal cortex and the primary motor cortex, restoring the connections to help it work as it should.
The company claims that by addressing 'symptoms directly at their source', the device enables a 'more efficient and effective treatment process'.
As a safety measure, users need to spray a saline solution onto conductive sponges on the underside of the band before use. This ensures the current 'flows properly'.
Samphire Neuroscience acknowledges, however, mild side effects such as tingling and itching may occur — normally only during first use.
On 'rare' occasions, women may also experience headaches or even nausea that subside after half an hour, it claimed.
Nettle is available for Brits to pre-order from July 11, with all pre-order deliveries expected between late August and early September.
A study involving the device, carried out independently by researchers at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil earlier this year, suggested average pain severity decreased by 52.8 per cent.
By comparison, the control group who received placebo electrical pulses recorded a drop of 24.43 per cent.
The pre-print, which was not peer-reviewed but published on website MedRxiv, added: 'This change suggests a clinically meaningful decline in menstrual pain symptoms in the active group after a single cycle of use.'
Emilė Radytė, of Samphire Neuroscience, said: 'Women's health has been notoriously under-researched and underfunded for decades'
A second 2024 clinical trial, published in the journal Plos One, saw researchers track 49 women aged 20 to 25 with PMS.
They concluded: 'This approach offers a novel avenue for addressing pain and mood-related concerns associated with women’s menstrual health that is yet to be tested.'
The device has already been given the seal of approval in Europe, meeting the general safety and performance requirements of all European medical device regulations — a legal requirement to market in the EU.
It is already registered with the relevant body for the UK.
Under current UK rules, medical devices only need to be registered with the regulator after gaining approval from a certification body.
But women with epilepsy or a history of seizures, pre-existing neurological conditions or cochlear and hearing aid implants, are advised not to use the device, Samphire Neuroscience says.
Anyone under the age of 18 or with implanted medical devices, such as a cardiac pacemaker should also urged to steer clear.
Experts today, however, cautioned the gadget will not 'be specific to PMS pain', with its overall effectiveness 'difficult to truly assess'.
Dr Franziska Denk, an expert in neuroimmune interactions and chronic pain at King's College London, told MailOnline: 'This device will certainly not be specific to PMS pain, but rather tap into very general pain and mood circuitry.
'How well it works will also be difficult to truly assess, since people know when it is switched on — due to the tingling — so they may feel better, simply because they expect or hope to feel better.'
The studies involving Nettle suggest the technology behind the device may 'not work beyond this "placebo expectation" effect', she added.
'My recommendation would still be that if women suffer from high levels of menstrual pain, they need to fight to see specialists, and make sure they get properly asses for risk of conditions like endometriosis, for example,' she said.
'Most recent scientific evidence points towards the fact that high levels of pain mean there is something wrong, not just in the brain, but also in the body.
'We have been wrongly taught to normalize high levels of pain but need to fight against that.
The headband is designed to be worn at home for five days before a user's period begins
'Women should certainly not be left to accept and manage them with expensive medical devices.'
Emilė Radytė, CEO and co-founder of Samphire Neuroscience, however, said: 'Women's health has been notoriously under-researched and underfunded for decades.
'As a result, women have been expected to compromise when it comes to taking care of their minds and bodies.
'What we are doing is approaching things differently — with the brain as the nexus of health.
'A number of scientific studies have highlighted the potential of brain-based therapies.
'Mental and physical well-being are essential components of a complex system governed by the brain and unlocking that system's capabilities will lead to breakthroughs beyond our current understanding, and Samphire is going to help forge that path.'
