Transcranial AC Pulsed Applications of Weak Electromagnetic Fields Reduces Freezing and Falling in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: A Case Report

Abstract

Freezing is a common and disabling symptom in patients with Parkinsonism. It affects most commonly the gait in the form of start hesitation and sudden immobility often resulting in falling. A higher incidence of freezing occurs in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) which is characterized clinically by a constellation of symptoms including supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, postural instability, axial rigidity, dysarthria, Parkinsonism, and pseudobulbar palsy. Pharmacologic therapy of PSP is currently disappointing and the disease progresses relentlessly to a fatal outcome within the first decade after onset. This report concerns a 67 year old woman with a diagnosis of PSP in whom freezing and frequent falling were the most disabling symptoms of the disease at the time of presentation. Both symptoms, which were rated 4 on the Unified Parkinson Rating Scale (UPRS) which grades Parkinsonian symptoms and signs from 0 to 4, with 0 being normal and 4 being severe symptoms, were resistant to treatment with dopaminergic drugs such as levodopa, amantadine, selegiline and pergolide mesylate as well as with the potent and highly selective noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor nortriptyline. Weekly transcranial applications of AC pulsed electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of picotesla flux density was associated with approximately 50% reduction in the frequency of freezing and about 80-90% reduction in frequency of falling after a 6 months follow-up period. At this point freezing was rated 2 while falling received a score of 1 on the UPRS. In addition, this treatment was associated with an improvement in Parkinsonian and pseudobulbar symptoms with the difference between the pre-and post EMF treatment across 13 measures being highly significant (p < .005; Sign test). These results suggest that transcranial administration AC pulsed EMFs in the picotesla flux density is efficacious in the treatment of PSP.

Electroceutical Technology: Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of 40-160 T/S Inductively Coupled Electrical Stimulation (ICES) In The Acute Inflammation Model

“…It should be noted that there is significant theoretical evidence that suggests that there is a lower bound for frequencies as well due to the thermal noise threshold 19,69,70 . Interestingly, there have been a number of studies that find effects well below the theoretical frequency and amplitude limits predicted mathematically, suggesting either a placebo effect or an alternative transduction mechanism [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]69,71 . A description of the numbered portions above can be found in Table 1-1.…”

“…Generating such field strengths can be done using several magnetic waveforms. It should also be noted that much lower amplitude magnetic fields, on the order of picotesla, (10 -12 T) have been reported to be clinically effective for treatment of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's patients [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] . So, one can conclude that waveform amplitude certainly plays a role in both the efficacy and the potential risk involved in the use of ICES stimulators, but the precise role and the underlying biological and electromagnetic mechanisms remain to be elucidated.…”

“…showed that there was no significant effect from treating sciatic crush lesions in Swiss mice using a stimulation protocol that induced a 20 kT/s magnetic flux rate-a relatively large stimulus 81 . [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] . However, it should be noted that the field strengths in question fall far below the thermal noise threshold and that the majority of these studies are case studies, not controlled laboratory studies.…”

“…Pilla and colleagues developed a theory of interaction between pulsed radio frequency (PRF) waves and tissues which makes use of the frequency response of tissues and places lower bounds on waveform parameters based on the thermal noise threshold 2,4,5,7,[17][18][19]67,68 . More recently, ICES has been studied in terms of behavioural modulations-specifically the effects of ICES on bipolardisorder, autism spectral disorder (ASD), Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]46 . Prior to discussing the effects of ICES on cells, tissues and systems, it is necessary to discuss the important parameters which govern how tissues will respond to electromagnetic radiation.…”

Toward future therapies in progressive supranuclear palsy

“…Other nondrug treatments have included transcranial AC pulsed electromagnetic fields in 1 patient, which apparently reduced the frequency of freezing by 50% and falls by 90% 58. Autologous adrenal medullary transplantation into the caudate nucleus of 3 PSP patients had limited efficacy and was associated with several transient postoperative complications 59, 60.…”