Supporting Studies
General Studies
- Physiological and Therapeutic Effects of High Frequency Electrical Impulses (8 pages)
Source: Integr Physiol Behav Sci
A single CES session significantly increased levels of serotonin and beta-endorphin, GABA and DHEA and lowered levels of cortisol and tryptophan. The authors reviewed the body of literature that has found CES treatment to be associated with significant improvements in pain, insomnia, spasticity, depression, and headache. Read more - Evolution of Electrotherapy: From TENS to Cyberpharmacology (22 pages)
Source: Bioelectromagnetic Medicine (Eds: P.J. Rosch & M.S. Markov). Marcel Dekker: New York, 2004
This chapter reviews the use of electricity in medicine, with an initial focus on the treatment of pain and development of the TENS device. It was found that pain relief could be enhanced with cranioelectrical stimulation, which also turned out to relieve symptoms of depression via effects on the neurotransmitter serotonin. Then the effects on other neurotransmitters are reviewed following crano-electrical and electroacupuncture. Read more - Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma Neurochemicals: Response to Cranial Electro Stimulation (4 pages)
Source: J Neurol Orthop Med Surg
Important neurochemicals that are altered in patients with depression (serotonin, beta-endorphins, norepinephrine, melatonin, and cholinesterase) were assessed in normal volunteers before and after a single 20-minute CES session. Levels were tested in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in blood. All of these neurochemicals changed substantially, which a later statistical analysis showed to be highly significant. Cholinesterase diminished, and the others all increased. Read more - Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials of Cranial Electrostimulation (7 pages)
Source: J Neurol Orthop Med Surg
This meta-analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health pooled data from 14 of the most carefully conducted clinical trials comparing C.E.S. to a convincing sham treatment for treating anxiety, insomnia, headache, or brain dysfunction due to alcohol abuse. Anxiety—the easiest to evaluate because it had the largest number of studies and data that were the easiest to evaluate statistically—was significantly more responsive to C.E.S. Headache also improved. In the few studies on brain dysfunction and on insomnia, the overall effect was small but positive. “An important quality of C.E.S. is its potential as a substitute for drug therapy for a number of conditions...where drugs may have undesirable side effects of addictive potential.” Read more - Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation: safe neuromedical treatment for anxiety, depression, or insomnia (2 pages)
Source: S Med J
After describing the estimated 44,000 to 98,000 deaths annually in the U.S. caused by medical errors, the contribution of medication errors to this problem, and the FDA-mandated warnings on the dangers of the drugs typically prescribed for anxiety, depression, and insomnia,the author focuses on the drug-free advantages and positive research studies of the CES for treating these conditions. He notes that this treatment modality has been neglected by mainstream medicine for treating these conditions. Read more
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Focus
- Use of Neurotransmitter Modulaton to Facilitate Sensory Integration (8 pages)
Source: Neurology Report
Patients with neurologic dysfunction (including cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia) received Physical Therapy with CES or Occupational Therapy with or without CES. CES use was twice daily. Evaluation at 6 and 12 weeks for skills involved in daily living (eg, feeding, design copying, page turning) were remarkably improved in the Occupational Therapy + CES group. Patients who began with moderate impairment were within normal limits by 12 weeks. Read more - A Study of the Effects of Cranial Electrical Stimulation on Attention and Concentration (11 pages)
Source: Integr Physiolog Behav Sci
This study, designed to assess the potential of a single 20-minute CES session for enhancing attention and concentration in normal subjects, found significant improvement in one-third of those treated. Read more
Depression and Anxiety
- Reducing Symptoms of Depression Following Stimulation with Serotonin Regulators (4 pages)
Three studies are summarized. One—published in the American Journal of Pain Management—found that 92% of depressed patients tested exhibited abnormalities in their levels of neurochemicals involved in mood stabilization. The second—in the Journal of Neurologic and Orthopedic Medicine and Surgery—also found abnormalities in chronically depressed patients, ie, lower serotonin and higher cholinesterase levels. Daily CES sessions for 2 weeks raised serotonin levels in this group as well as in normal volunteers and chronic pain patients. The third study—presented at the Sixth International Montreux Congress on Stress—described the successful use of a 2-week CES treatment period as part of a multi-modality stress reduction program for chronic pain patients. Read more - The Neurochemistry of Depression (4 pages)
Source: Amer J Pain Man
Almost all of 104 depressed patients had abnormal levels of one or more of the neurochemicals measured: serotonin, melatonin, beta-endorphins, norepinephrine, and cholinesterase. Citing other studies in depressed patients that had documented widespread deficiencies in magnesium and essential amino acids, the authors concluded that depression is a complex chemical imbalance. Understanding this opens the way for more specific interventions. Read more - Depression: A Diagnostic, Neurochemical Profile & Therapy with Cranial Electrical Stimulation (3 pages)
Source: J Neurol Orthop Med Surg
Four groups were given 2 weeks of daily 20-minute CES sessions, and levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, beta-endorphins, and cholinesterase were measured before and after the full treatment period. Groups included normal volunteers, chronic pain patients, and patients with long-standing depression unresponsive to drugs. Before treatment, depressed patients had lower levels of serotonin and high levels of cholinesterase which had reversed after two weeks of CES treatment. Clinical lifting of depression occurred in 60% of these patients. 44% of the chronic pain patients improved. Read more - Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation: The Treatment of Choice for Pain and Depression (5 pages)
Source: J Alt Complement Med
The author reviews the development of micro-current devices, focusing on the Liss unit, which significantly increases beta-endorphin and serotonin when used transcranially. He notes that “our experience with the Liss in well over 25,000 patients reveals that it addresses depression successfully in 50% of patients, far better and more safely than does any antidepressant.” Including it in a multi-modality program has produced an 85% success rate. Read more
Pain
- The Use of Modulated Energy Carried on a High Frequency Wave for the Relief of Intractable Pain (3 pages)
Source: Amer J Pain Man
10 patients with chronic neck/shoulder or back pain that was unresponsive to analgesics and conventional TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) used the Liss Bipolar Body Stimulator for 20-minute sessions 3–5 times daily for 1 month. They stopped analgesics for a brief period before and after treatment began. 8 of the 10 patients experienced substantial benefit throughout the study, with a highly significant overall pain reduction of almost two-thirds. Read more
Cerebral Palsy
- Transcranial Stimulation for the Inhibition of Primitive Reflexes in Children with Cerebral Palsy (8 pages)
Source: Neurology Report
20 children (from 2.5 months to 15 years) with spastic cerebral palsy from brain damage due to inadequate oxygen during birth were given 6 weeks of CES and 6 weeks of sham CES in addition to their regular therapeutic program. Half the children began with CES, then switched to sham treatment; the other half reversed this order. 10-minute treatment sessions were twice a day. Except for 1 outlier patient, they all made significant progress during their active treatment period, and extremely minimal progress during the sham phase. Read more - Improved Mechanical Efficiency in Cerebral Palsy Patients Treated with a CES (20 pages)
Source: Unpublished document
30 patients with spastic cerebral palsy were treated with CES in a double-blind placebo-controlled study to evaluate antispasticity effects. A vigorous graded exercise work task was carried out on a computerized bicycle ergometer before and after a CES treatment session. The actively treated group improved 19.1% in mechanical efficiency and 43% in workload output. The placebo group’s performance declined from pre-test measurement. Reduced spasticity is the most likely explanation for the treated group’s significant success. Read more
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