Back Off, Chronic Pain! FDA Nods for Abbott's Spinal Cord Stimulation Devices

The FDA approved Abbott Laboratories ABT spinal cord stimulation (SCS) devices for chronic back pain in people who have not had or are not eligible to receive back surgery, known as non-surgical back pain. 

Abbott's DISTINCT study enrolled 270 participants who suffered pain for an average of 12.8 years.

Results at six months for the first 200 patients demonstrated clear clinical evidence supporting BurstDR stimulation therapy as an effective treatment for chronic back pain and were sustained at the 12-month follow-up.

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72.6% of people in the SCS study arm and 85.2% of those implanted achieved significant back pain reduction compared to only 7.1% in the conservative medical management arm.

91.4% of people who received SCS therapy obtained significant pain relief or significantly improved function.

On average, people who received SCS therapy experienced a 69.7% reduction in pain.

BurstDR is a form of stimulation therapy that uses pulses—or bursts—of mild electrical energy without an abnormal sensation of "tingling" (known as paresthesia) to change pain signals as they travel from the spinal cord to the brain. 

Price Action: ABT shares are down 0.12% at $109.71 on the last check Tuesday.