Applications of Weak, Complex Magnetic Fields that Attenuate EAE in Rats to a Human Subject with Moderately Severe Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background: A middle-aged woman who displayed moderately severe chronic multiple sclerosis for more than a decade and whose symptoms did not respond to conventional treatments volunteered to whole-body exposures of computer generated, 7 Hz weak magnetic fields during her sleep cycle for about four months. Method: The magnetic fields were generated by custom-constructed software that generated current through two large coils that were placed at the head and foot of the bed and extended the width of the bed. To simulate the procedure that had markedly ameliorated experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats, the 7 Hz fields were presented for 6 min once per hour, between midnight and 08 hr. The generated maximum (peak-to-peak) intensities were either 40 nT, 10 nT or 0 nT during different 30 to 40 day blocks. Results: Only the somatic symptoms but not the ambulatory complications were significantly reduced during the nocturnal presentations of 40 nT exposures compared to the other conditions. Conclusions: These results suggest that this particular configuration of magnetic fields, which were shown to reduce the clinical severity of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in rats, may help reduce the somatic components of patients with chronic multiple sclerosis.