No abstract

A 55 year old woman with multiple sclerosis presented with a 5 week history of an exacerbation of symptoms. Prominent among these symptoms was trigeminal neuralgia, migraine headaches, blurring of vision, and ataxia of gait. While treatment with carbamazepine (TegretolR) (800 mg/d) and oral prednisolone (15 mg/d) over a 4 week period produced no improvement in symptoms, externally applied magnetic fields (MF) (7.5 picoTesla; 5 Hz) placed over the scalp for a 7 minute period on three different days resulted in a complete resolution of symptoms within two weeks of initiation of treatment. Partial relief of the neuralgic pain and headaches was obtained immediately after completion of the first treatment indicating that resolution of symptoms was related to the effects of MF and not to a spontaneous remission. This is the first report demonstrating the clinical efficacy of pico Tesla range MF in rapidly resolving an acute relapse of MS.

We have recently demonstrated that Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain measurements in patients with seizure disorders show significant MEG activity often in the absence of conventional EEG abnormalities. We localized foci of seizure activity using the mapping technique characterized by the ISO-Spectral Amplitude (ISO-SA) on the scalp distribution of specified spectral components or frequency bands of the emitted MEG Fourier power spectrum. In addition, using an electronic device, we utilized the above recorded activity to emit back the same intensity and frequency of magnetic field to the presumed epileptic foci. Using this method we were able, over the past two years, successfully to attenuate seizure activity in a cohort of over 100 patients with various forms of epilepsy. We now present in more detail three randomly selected patients with partial seizures in whom application of an external artificial magnetic field of low intensity produced a substantial attenuation of seizure frequency during an observation period extending from 10 to 14 months. All patients had previously obtained only partial response to conventional anticonvulsant therapy. Attenuation in seizure frequency was associated with normalization of the MEG activity. These cases demonstrate that artificial magnetic treatment may be a valuable adjunctive procedure in the management of partial seizures. The possible mechanisms underlying the anticonvulsant properties of magnetic stimulation at both cellular and systemic levels are discussed. Specifically, since the pineal gland has been shown to be a magnetosensitive organ which forms part of a combined compass-solar clock system, and since it exerts an inhibitory action on seizure activity in both experimental animals and humans, we discuss the potential pivotal role of the pineal gland in the long term anticonvulsant effects of external artificial magnetic stimulation.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesias are a common complication of chronic dopaminergic therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The overall prevalence of levodopa-induced dyskinesias ranges from 40%-90% and is related to the underlying disease process, pharmacologic factors, and to the duration of high dose levodopa therapy. The mechanisms underlying the emergence of levodopa-induced dyskinesias are unknown, although most investigators favor the theory that striatal dopamine receptor supersensitivity is directly responsible for the development of these abnormal movements. In laboratory animals, the pineal hormone melatonin has been shown to regulate striatal dopaminergic activity and block levodopa-induced dyskinesias (Cotzias et al., 1971). Since the pineal gland is known to be a magnetosensitive organ and as application of external magnetic fields has been shown to alter melatonin secretion, we studied the effects of application of external artificial weak magnetic fields in a Parkinsonian patient with severe levodopa-induced dyskinesias ("on-off"). Application of weak magnetic fields with a frequency of 2 Hz and intensity of 7.5 picotesla (pT) for a 6 minute period resulted in a rapid and dramatic attenuation of Parkinsonian disability and an almost complete resolution of the dyskinesias. This effect persisted for about 72 hours after which the patient regressed to his pretreatment state. To ascertain if the responses elicited in the laboratory were reproducible, the patient was instructed to apply magnetic fields of the same characteristics daily at home. These subsequent treatments paralleled the initial response with a sustained improvement being maintained during an observation period lasting at least one month. This case demonstrates the efficacy of weak magnetic fields in the treatment of Parkinsonism and motor complications of chronic levodopa therapy.

External application of picoTesla range magnetic fields (MF) has been reported recently to be efficacious in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) including those who manifest levodopa-related dyskinesias. In the present communication, we present four additional Parkinsonian patients who showed, within a brief period of time, marked improvement in motor symptoms after therapy with MF. Three of the patients had been maintained on antiParkinsonian medication during treatment with MF while the fourth patient had never received pharmacotherapy. Improvement with magnetic therapy was noted not only in the motor sphere (resting tremor, gait apraxia, postural instability), but also in nonmotor aspects of the disease including mood, sleep, pain, anorexia, autonomic, and cognitive functions attesting to the unique efficacy of external picoTesla range MF in the treatment of Parkinsonism. Poverty of facial expression (hypomimia, "masked facies"), which correlates with the degree of striatal dopaminergic deficiency, is one of the clinical hallmarks of PD reflecting the severity of hypokinesia and rigidity in the orofacial musculature. In this report, we emphasize the effects of MF on the hypomimia of PD and provide visual documentation illustrating the changes in the patients' facial expression which follow treatment with MF.