Magnetic Therapy

and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

We can supply magnetic stimulators for cerebral stimulation using pulses, sine, square waves or other waveforms.  We have managed to achieve success in overcoming the problem of overheating of the coils which had limited the pulse frequency to 10 pulses per second.  We also have developed unusual Caduceus Coils to generate Scalar Waves. 

Click here for more details and price our home-use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator also called TMS

Click here for our dynamic magnetic pulser, the Neodyme.

• SAVANT-LIKE SUPERNORMAL SKILLS (memory, drawing ability, alertness),  evoked by magnetic brain stimulation at  
•  http://www.centreforthemind.com/whoweare/SavantSkillsJournal.pdf+magstim&hl=en

• or  http://www.centreforthemind.com/whoweare/SavantSkillsJournal.pdf

Electromagnetic Field Therapies: A Bibliography from Medline at  

  http://users.med.auth.gr/~karanik/english/articles/emf1.html

Using short magnetic pulses, neuroscientists are reaching into the human skull and temporarily altering volunteers' brain activity. Marina Chicurel takes an induction course.

Studying the human brain can be a frustrating business. Although sophisticated imaging techniques can offer snapshots of activity, direct intervention in the brains of humans is ethically off-limits. It is no wonder that neuroscientists sometimes feel like visitors to a museum — they can look but not touch.

But things are beginning to change. Neuroscientists studying human cognitive processes are now making tentative use of a technique that can temporarily alter their subjects' brain activity. Insights into everything from language to conscious awareness are emerging, as well as hints that the technique could help treat some mental disorders. "There are just some extraordinary things coming out," says Michael Gazzaniga of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Before technology for imaging the human brain emerged, neuroscientists interested in cognitive functions were mostly limited to studying patients with brain lesions — damage to specific areas of the brain. By looking for links between the patients' symptoms and the site of the damage, researchers pinpointed brain areas involved in abilities such as language, learning and memory.

During the 1980s and 1990s, techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which tracks brain activity by monitoring blood flow, allowed neuroscientists to see which areas of the brain were active during specific tasks. A flood of information about the functions of different brain areas followed.

But such techniques have their limits. "There's no causality in it," complains Tomás Paus, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "You can never say whether one brain region is influencing another, or whether they are active together because some third region is driving both." Rather than just passively observing the brain, researchers would like to manipulate it directly.

Polar explorers
Scientists had long suspected that magnetic fields might allow them to do this. Brain cells send electrical signals along the fibres that make up their communication networks. Because changing magnetic fields can induce current in electrical conductors, researchers thought that a magnetic pulse might stimulate currents in brain cells, and so alter brain activity. Early attempts to do this date back to the nineteenth century, but it wasn't until 1985 that devices capable of producing the short, intense pulses needed to stimulate the brain were developed.

The breakthrough was made by Anthony Barker, a medical physicist at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, UK. Barker used a 2-tesla magnetic pulse about 1 millisecond long to stimulate the brain area that controls finger movement. Unintentionally, the volunteer's fingers twitched¹. "It caused a good deal of excitement," recalls Barker.

The technique, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), remains similar today. There are hints that the intensity and frequency of the induced current can influence whether the stimulation increases or damps down brain activity^{2, 3}. But TMS cannot, at present, exert precise control over the brain. It puts in "random neural noise", explains Vincent Walsh of the University of Oxford, UK, who has used TMS to study cognitive functions such as visual awareness.

Single pulses affect brain function for just a few milliseconds. But a train of pulses, typically delivered at rates of about one per second, can disrupt brain activity for tens of minutes. This technique, known as repetitive TMS (rTMS), creates 'virtual' lesions for neuroscientists to experiment on.

Last year, for example, Alfonso Caramazza and colleagues at Harvard University used rTMS to reveal how our brains seem to use different regions to handle verbs and nouns. Caramazza was studying the left prefrontal cortex, an area thought to be involved in the ability to conjugate verbs. Previous lesion studies had proved inconclusive, partly because the damage often extended beyond the area of interest. And, as with other studies of brain damage, it was impossible to gauge the extent to which other parts of the patients' brains had compensated for the damage.

"With brain-damaged patients we're at the mercy of nature," says Caramazza. "That's why I became a TMS convert." When Caramazza applied rTMS to the left prefrontal cortex he found that his subjects had difficulty conjugating verbs⁴. But their ability to give singular and plural forms of nouns was unchanged.

In the past few years, TMS has been used to investigate a number of thought processes. In 1999, for instance, Stephen Kosslyn, together with Alvaro Pascual-Leone of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, led a team that examined the long-standing hypothesis that when we visualize a scene in our mind's eye, we generate mental 'images' that recreate the relative distances between objects in the real scene. Support for the idea came from studies of a brain region known as V1. When we view a real scene, the pattern of active neurons in V1 forms a kind of 'map' of the scene, and some studies indicated that the same area was active during visualizations⁵.

But other experiments had failed to confirm this. It was also unclear whether the activation was intimately involved in visualization, or was simply a by-product of activity in other brain regions. Kosslyn asked volunteers to memorize a pattern of stripes, and then close their eyes and answer questions about the pattern. Applying TMS to V1 increased the time the subjects took to answer⁶, supporting the idea that our mind's eye conjures up lifelike images.

Other researchers have recently used TMS to study visual attention⁷, the storage and retrieval of memories⁸, and how we recognize our own face⁹ or the angry expressions of others¹⁰. As interest in the technique grows, researchers are exploring ways of using it in conjunction with imaging technology.

Image conscious

Some groups are combining TMS with MRI. A reflective tag, which can be tracked by an optical sensor, is attached to the coil, allowing the coil's position to be displayed on the MRI scan. This and similar methods should allow the neural connections within the brain to be mapped out. Paus, for example, is interested in probing changes associated with disease, and plans to examine connectivity in the frontal cortex of schizophrenic patients, which some researchers believe may be abnormal. Other experiments, which are in their early stages, have been designed to investigate how tasks such as learning change neural connections.

TMS can also be used to probe the function and timing of the signals that travel along neural pathways. Last year, Walsh and Pascual-Leone examined connections between V1 and another area in the visual cortex known as V5. Visual information from our eyes arrives at V1 and is relayed to V5, which plays a specialized role in the perception of motion. V5 also sends signals back to V1, and some researchers believe that this connection makes us aware of the motion detected in V5.

Earlier work had shown that magnetic stimulation of V5 caused subjects to see moving spots of light. So Pascual-Leone and Walsh stimulated V5 and then used a less intense pulse to disrupt activity in V1. Stimulating both areas simultaneously had no effect on what subjects reported seeing. But the appearance of the moving spots was greatly impaired if the V1 pulse was delivered between 5 and 45 milliseconds after the V5 stimulation¹¹. The results show that the link from V5 back to V1 plays a role in motion awareness, as well as demonstrating that this link operates very quickly.

Slow headway

Walsh says that many more timing issues could be probed using similar studies. "It's amazing how many easy experiments haven't yet been exploited," he says. But TMS is taking a long time to be adopted by cognitive scientists. One factor may be the relatively poor communication between cognitive neuroscientists and those studying movement — the first group to embrace the technique. Some researchers also worry about the spatial resolution of TMS. The technique is thought to stimulate about one cubic centimetre of brain, but factors such as coil position and pulse intensity influence the affected volume in a way that is not clearly understood.

But some may have been deterred by fears that TMS could be harmful. "A concern is how virtual is the virtual lesion, especially in subjects who may have some unidentified vulnerabilities, such as an undiagnosed tendency to have seizures," says Douglas Rothman, a medical-imaging expert at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

But TMS does have a good safety record. Current guidelines for the length and intensity of the stimuli were drafted in 1998 following a consensus reached at an international workshop two years earlier¹². Some subjects have suffered single episodes of rTMS-induced seizures. But, according to Pascual-Leone, only seven such cases have been reported, none of which occurred when the published guidelines were followed.

Pascual-Leone also notes that most researchers give their subjects cognitive tests to make sure that they are back to normal before they leave the lab. But Jordan Grafman of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, thinks that these evaluations should be standardized to ensure that they pick up subtle effects. "You might want to have people stay longer, you might want to have additional testing," he says. "There have been very few studies considering this."

Despite these questions, most agree that isolated sessions of rTMS, such as those experienced by volunteers in cognitive studies, do not induce permanent changes. But repeated bouts of rTMS can have long-lived effects, and some hope to harness them to treat mental disorders. In 1995, for example, after noticing that depressed patients had low levels of activity in their left prefrontal cortices, Mark George, a psychiatrist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, tried boosting activity in that region using rTMS¹³. George says that his patients improved, but similar studies conducted since have proved to be less clear-cut.

A team led by Tal Burt, a psychiatrist at Columbia University in New York, has recently collated the results of 25 such studies¹⁴. The group concludes that rTMS has a modest antidepressant effect, of uncertain clinical value, but which could improve as researchers refine their methods. Factors such as coil placement, stimulation frequency and the influence of patient variability now need to be investigated. George is planning large-scale trials. "The questions now are: how big is that effect, can it be made to last, is it clinically useful, what are the use parameters that maximize the effect?" he says.

Virtual surgery
Other disorders are also being tackled with rTMS. Last year, Massimiliano Oliveri, a neuroscientist at the University of Palermo in Italy, working with colleagues at the University of Turin, showed how the technique can be used to treat hemispatial neglect, a condition in which patients have difficulty paying attention to objects on one side of their visual field.

The condition is often caused by damage to parts of the brain called the parietal cortex. Under normal circumstances, the left and right sides of this area inhibit each other. But when one side is damaged, the other becomes hyperactive. Although, to a degree, the brain may compensate for this, Oliveri reasoned that he might be able to balance the activity by creating a virtual lesion in the undamaged side. Initial results were promising, with the patients showing improved awareness during stimulation¹⁵, and Oliveri is now using stimuli designed to produce longer-lived changes —1 Hz for 10 minutes every day for five days. The eight patients he has treated, and followed for a month so far, have improved 40% faster than non-treated controls, he says.

TMS may also be able to go one step further, and enhance normal peoples' thought processes. Last year, Grafman applied rTMS to normal volunteers while they solved a reasoning puzzle¹⁶. "We decided to see if we could actually make people faster," he says. By applying rTMS to the prefrontal cortex, an area that is active when people solve certain types of visual puzzle, Grafman reduced the time taken by subjects to solve a problem involving geometric shapes.

But it is unclear why such experiments work. Walsh says that noise can boost performance when it is used to block an inhibiting area, such as in Oliveri's studies of neglect, but it is difficult to see how it could enhance a circuit's precisely tuned pattern of activity. Grafman acknowledges this apparent paradox, but points out that noise can, in some systems, aid a change from one state to another — a phenomenon known as stochastic resonance.

Some scientists are uneasy about this area of research. Pascual-Leone believes it might be possible to use TMS to enhance a wealth of mental skills. "But those experiments shouldn't be done without a very serious debate," he says. "And who is to decide what behaviour should be modified, and by whom, and for what purpose?"

Others do not see an ethical dilemma in such experiments. George has been funded by the US Department of Defense to study whether TMS can help to improve memory. He argues that such methods are no different from accepted means of boosting performance. "We do things all the time to try to enhance our performance," says George. "We exercise, we practice. The idea of using a physical stimulation to do that doesn't seem to me to broach any new ground."

Whether or not such controversial projects succeed, TMS enthusiasts see a bright future for the technique. After more than a decade of relative obscurity, they say TMS is beginning to take its place in the toolboxes of cognitive neuroscientists. "People have started realizing how many unique opportunities magnetic stimulation offers," says Pascual-Leone. "I think they've started to get it."

MARINA CHICUREL
Marina Chicurel is a writer in Santa Cruz, California.

 

Fracture healing

Several studies report that pulsed electromagnetic fields improve healing of fractures of the long bones of the lower leg (tibia) that have failed to heal properly after several weeks. Pulsed electromagnetic fields may also be useful for fracture healing of the largest bone in the wrist (scaphoid), the foot bones (metatarsals) and the vertebrae, although there is less research in these areas. It is not clear if pulsed electromagnetic fields are equal to or better than other techniques for fracture, such as bone grafting. These procedures should be performed only by qualified specialists and should first be discussed with your health care provider.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Preliminary research reports that magnet therapy does not improve pain from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Diabetic foot pain

Preliminary research reports reductions in foot burning, numbness, tingling and walking-induced foot pain with the use of static magnetic shoe insoles. Despite weaknesses in the existing research, these findings are promising. Effects are reported to take three to four months to be noted. Better-quality research is necessary to make a firm conclusion.

Fibromyalgia

Preliminary research suggests that magnet therapy, such as the use of magnetic sleep pads, may not be beneficial in fibromyalgia. Further studies are needed to provide a more definitive answer.

Multiple sclerosis

Studies of electromagnetic field therapy for multiple sclerosis symptoms have differing results. Well-designed studies are needed to determine a benefit before a conclusion can be drawn.

Osteoarthritis

The results of research on electromagnetic field therapy for osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease are inconclusive. High-quality studies are needed before a recommendation can be made.

Pain

Magnets are used to treat many types of pain. There is early research of static magnets and pulsed electromagnetic therapy for several types of pain, but these results can only be considered preliminary. Better research is needed before a firm conclusion can be drawn. Types of pain that have been studied include muscle symptoms in post-polio patients, chronic refractory pelvic pain, chronic neck pain (using pulsed electromagnetic therapy or magnetic "necklaces"), foot pain in people with diabetes (using magnetic footpads) and chronic back pain (using permanent or harnessed bipolar magnets).

Rheumatoid arthritis pain

Initial evidence has failed to show improvements in knee pain with the use of magnet therapy. However, because of weaknesses in this research, the conclusions cannot be considered definitive.

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

Most research using magnets for tinnitus is not well designed or reported. Better studies are necessary before a recommendation can be made.

 

Achilles tendonitis Ankle pain Anxiety Arthritis Asthma Back pain Bedsores Blood flow stimulation Bunions Bursitis Cancer Cardiovascular disorders Cerebral palsy Circulatory disorders Depression Diarrhea Edema Enhanced cellular metabolism Enhanced energy Enhanced strength Epilepsy Esophagitis Fatigue Fertility Hair loss and Alopecia Heel spurs Hemorrhage High blood pressure Immune system stimulation Improved athletic performance Improved well-being and vitality Incontinence

Increased blood circulation Inflammation Insomnia Jet lag Knee pain Knee replacement surgery Settling prosthetic implants Menstrual cramps Migraine headache Muscle soreness Nerve regeneration Neurologic disorders Obstructive sleep apnea Orbicular muscle paralysis Osteochondrosis Osteopathy Peripheral neuropathy Respiratory (breathing) disorders Restless leg syndrome Retinitis pigmentosa Sciatica Snoring Soft tissue injuries Stress reduction Synovitis (a type of arthritis) Tendonitis Tennis elbow Traumatic reticulitis (a cellular disorder) Whiplash Wound healing

Links:

• Extensive list of references at http://sound-ideas.info/13.html  Scientific references at http://members.aol.com/JBainSI/References.htm on Alzheimers, Arthritis, Blood dynamics, Burns, Cancer, Cardiology, Dental, Depression, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Fractures, Hypertension, Inflammation, Leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis, Pacemakers, Pain Relief, Parkinson’s, Prostatitis, Wound and Nerve Recovery, Sexuality, Sight and Perception, Spinal Cord Injuries, Skin Ulcers, Lung disease, Magnetic Water Conditioning.
   
• Advanced Magnetic Research Institute - Clinic for magnetic molecular energizing, physician profiles, clinical data, and book reviews.
• AMRI of North Carolina - List of conditions they treat with MME(magnetic molecular energizing), nutrition guidelines, and staff profiles.
• Bio Electro Magnetic Therapy - Message forum, therapy testimonials, and research articles.
• Biomagnetic Therapy - Includes history, how it works, testimonials, and how to use magnetic therapy products.
• Biomagnetic Therapy Association - Application, news, and case studies.
• Body Vibes - Electromagnetic "alternative" treatment for prostate and breast cancer.
• Boulder Vibe Center - Provides information about magnetic field and light therapy done by the SEAD 6000 machine in Boulder Colorado. Promotes positive changes in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual conditions.
• Healing with Magnets - Articles on therapy techniques, magnetic water, and history.
• Mag Doc - Explains living water and stress relief treatments.
• Magnet Therapy - Explanation of study results, legal and regulatory actions, by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
• Magnetic Therapy - Learn how to fight pain naturally with magnets.
• Magnetic Therapy Articles - Covers health professionals, pain, pulsed, sports, and sleep.
• Magnetic Therapy Research - Study results and explaination of magnetized water.
• Magneto-Therapy - Description and explanation of magnetic therapy for relief of arthritis, arthrosis, and rheumatoid arthritis without side-effects.
• Nederland Biomagnetics - Articles about the treatment of diseases and comments from patients.
• Newswise Pain Relief Results - University of Virginia press release of study.
• Skeptics Dictionary Magnetic Therapy - Explains the placebo effect and market size. Links to articles and studies.
• Using Magnets for Health - Explains magnetic fields, deficiency syndrome, and history.
• Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? - Investigates history, how it works, and Baylor study results. (July, 1998)
• Magnetic Effects on Water (alternating polarity is better) at http://www.web-hang.hu/sylmagnetism/leiras.htm
•  "Magnetic seizure therapy may treat depression" at http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp?content=20040503_183848_4780
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22SAVANT.html
•  Scientific American: Stimulating the Brain [ TREATMENT ]
  Activating the brain's circuitry with pulsed magnetic fields may help ease depression, enhance cognition, even fight fatigue
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22SAVANT.html
• Electromagnetic Field Therapies: A Bibliography from Medline at
•   http://users.med.auth.gr/~karanik/english/articles/emf1.html
• Magnotherapy at http://members.aol.com/JBainSI/Magnotherapy.html

• International Society for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation at http://www.ists.unibe.ch/

• PERSINGER, Dr Michael A. Department of Psychology at  http://laurentian.ca/admn/GRAD_STUDY/FACPUBLICATIONS/PSYCHOLOGY/MPERSINGER.HTML

• Modulation of Muscle Responses Evoked by Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation during the Acquisition of New Fine Motor Skills by A. Pascual-Leone, D. Nguyet, L.G. Cohen, et al “”  J. Neurophysiology 74 (199):1037-45.  p151 of the book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. 

References:  

Multiple Sclerosis

1. "Bioelectromagnetic Applications for M.S.", in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Clinics of North America Volume 9, No 3, Aug 1998
2. "Pulsing Magnetic Field Effects on Brain Electrical Activity in M.S." in Multiple Sclerosis Research, Vol 3, No 3, June 1997
3. "MS and Picotesla Electromagnetic Therapy " in Clinical Pearls News, Vol 6, No 5,  May 1996.
4. "Double Blind Study of Magnetic Field Effects on MS", Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol 3, No 1, 1997.
5. "Pulsing EM Field Therapy of MS by the Gyuling-Bordacs Device, Journal of Bioelectricity, Vol 6, No 1, 1987
6. "Treatment of Neurological Disorders by Pulsating Magnetic Field"  Journal Ideggyogyaszati Szemle, Vol 39, 1986
7. "Effects of Pulsing EM Fields (PEMF) on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration" Journal of Orthopaedic Transactions, Vol 4, 1980

1. Article on Healing of Cancer with magnets: http://sleepdisorders.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.stopcancer.com/000/011.htm
   Article on hospital research:   http://sleepdisorders.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/2/MAGNET.UVM.html
2. "Magnetic Neuromedicine: an 'attractive' promise" by Frank Adams, a physician and neuropharmacologist, in the American Journal of Pain Management (AJPM), 1998;8:17-18. This article reports some positive clinical results and calls for more comprehensive studies.
3. "Chronic submaximal magnetic stimulation in peripheral neuropathy: is there a beneficial therapeutic relationship? Michael Weintraub, AJPM 1998 8(1) . This study suggests that magnetic foot pads may relieve neuropathic pain in some cases. Detailed paper with many references.
4. "Magnetic Mattress Pad Use in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Double-blind Pilot Study".
   Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation 13(1999) 19-31

Disclaimer:  Many of our items function based on Subtle Energies, the existence of which  there is only some limited evidence. These items have not been proven scientifically, therefore any use can be only experimental and no claims to treat or cure diseases are implied.