Magnetism therapy

[rootbeer]

Has anybody ever heard of, or used, magnetism therapy?  We went to a presentation about that recently.  We got a free meal at Golden Corral for going.  Some people claim it will help with all kinds of ailments.  The magnetic mattress they were selling is quite expensive; around $1300.  They claim  it is an effective treatment for some types of cancer.

[Sis]

Some say it's a placebo. But here's something on it.

I have read that FDA regulations render it illegal to market any magnet therapy product that claims to treat any "significant" condition such as cancer, HIV, AIDS, asthma, arthritis, or rheumatism.

Magnets Can Strengthen Your Mind

Tests in mice have shown that stimulating the brain with a magnetic coil appears to promote the growth of new neurons in areas associated with learning and memory.

If there is a similar effect in humans, it could lead to new ways of treating age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) refers to the use of a magnetic coil to induce electric fields in the brain tissue, which activates or deactivates groups of neurons.

It's thought that this process, called long-term potentiation (LTP), may help to strengthen brain circuits, thereby aiding learning and memory. It has previously been used experimentally to treat a range of brain disorders, including depression and schizophrenia, and to rehabilitate people after a stroke.

In the latest experiment, mice were given TMS for five days, after which their brains were analyzed for evidence of cell proliferation. Proliferation was enhanced in all areas of the brain tested, and there were large increases in the proliferation of stem cells in the dentate gyrus hippocampus. These cells are believed to play a crucial role in memory and mood regulation.

NewScientist.com May 24, 2007

Depressed? Magnets Might Help

People with depression that does not respond to traditional treatments may benefit from magnet therapy, according to a study. Patient groups given either high- or low-frequency treatments of magnetic stimulation of their scalps had improvements in their depression, as compared to a group that got a sham treatment with no improvement. Patients had to be treated for at least four weeks before results were seen.

Archives General Psychiatry October, 2003;60(10):1002-8

The Healing Power of Magnets

Magnets have been used for their healing properties since ancient times, and now a new study has found that they can reduce swelling when applied immediately after an inflammatory injury.

In their initial study, researchers from the University of Virginia set out to investigate the effect of magnetic therapy on microcirculation, which is blood flow through tiny blood vessels.

They placed magnets of 70 milliTesla (mT) field strength, which is about 10 times the strength of the common refrigerator magnet, near rats' blood vessels and found that they dilated constricted blood vessels, and constricted vessels that were dilated. The results suggested that the magnetic filed could relax blood vessels and increase blood flow.

In the more recent study, the researchers used magnets on rats' paws that had been treated with inflammatory agents to simulate tissue injury. The magnets significantly reduced swelling in the rats' paws by up to 50 percent when applied immediately after the injury.

Dilation of blood vessels is a major cause of swelling, and it's thought that the magnets worked by limiting blood flow.

Muscle bruising and joint sprains are the most common injuries worldwide, and since injuries that don't swell heal faster, the magnet therapy could have widespread applications.

The researchers envisioned using magnets in place of ice packs and compression to treat injuries in high school, college, and professional sports teams, as well as among retirement communities.

Sources:
Science Daily January 3, 2008
American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology November 2, 2007

Magnet Therapy Helps Schizophrenics

Using magnets to stimulate a particular area of the brain appears to help auditory hallucinations experienced by patients with schizophrenia. About 50% to 70% of patients with schizophrenia report having auditory hallucinations, often in the form of imaginary voices. Drugs offer little help, and these hallucinations can cause distress, disability, and leave patients unable to control their behavior. The investigators applied a low-frequency magnetic field to the left temporoparietal cortex of each patient for 4 minutes the first day, which increased by 4 minutes each day to 16 minutes on day 4. For comparison purposes, each patient also went through a "sham" stimulation, where patients had similar treatment but did not receive a magnetic field. The treatment was well tolerated, and there was significant improvement in the hallucination severity after 12 and 16 minutes of active stimulation. The severity of hallucinations was reduced in all but one patient. However, in the 8 patients classified as responders, the hallucinations returned after a period ranging from 4 days to 2 months after the treatment.

The Lancet March 25, 2000;355:1073-1075.