Healing Effects of Applied Direct Current (DC)See articles: ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS OF ULTRA-LOW MICROCURRENTS Electric current helps diabetic foot ulcers heal ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS OF ULTRA-LOW MICROCURRENTS Alfred J. Koonin, M.B., Ch, B., Ph.D., FRCS Exerpt from: http://www.eprtech.com/ANTIOXIDANT%20EFFECTS.htm To see if these ultra-low currents could work as an antioxidant, the model chosen was chronic skin wounds. The reason for this was that most of these lesions are found in debilitated patients with poor immune systems who probably have a high concentration of free radicals. Further, the wounds themselves are generally necrotic and infected with poor healing potential again indicating a high concentration of free radicals in the local area. The idea was to isolate the injured area as part of the circuit and thereby infuse a steady stream of electrons through the area with as little resistance as possible. The resistance would be reduced by using a low level current and by increasing the diameter of the conductor. Also, the frequency of the current would have to be low in order to prevent the electrons from traveling in short bursts. A low frequency would allow the electrons to move in a steady stream. Method A device was used that produced a current range of 3mA down to .1mA. The frequency used produced a cycle lasting approximately 23 minutes. The device was designed to switch the direction of current flow half way through the cycle. The device runs on a rechargeable battery producing a square wave bipolar current with a Voltage ranging between 5V up to a maximum of 40V. The Voltage range will vary proportionately with the resistance in the tissues. The device will not function if the range goes beyond 40 Volts. The electrodes are applied in two layers using tap water as the conducting medium. Water is a very poor conductor of electricity, but the minerals in tap water are sufficient to carry the current into the tissues. Also, the wraps cover a large surface area thus reducing resistance and allowing an optimum number of electrons to flow freely into the tissues. Patients were treated for approximately 3« hours per day, five days a week until the lesion had healed. A twelve-week maximum was allowed for healing to take place. All patients were in-patients and were on wound care treatments for at least three months prior to this study, with no observable improvement in their condition. The 25 patients treated had lesions present for an average of 18.5 months. For approximately 23 minutes per day the subjects were wrapped with spongy bandages, soaked in water, above and below the wound to make the sites readily receive the electric current later. Conductive silicone electrodes were then wrapped over these areas and attached to the device with stud clips. For the first cycle (23 minutes) the device was set at a current output of 3 mA. For the subsequent eight cycles of treatment (approximately three hours) the device was set at an output of .4mA. Twenty-five chronic wounds were treated. These were present for a period ranging from 3 to 60 months and did not respond to standard therapy. Ages of the patients in the study varied from 20 to 85 years old. Twenty-three of the lesions were stage III or IV. 92 % of the lesions were stages III or IV. The age of the lesions varied from 6 to 60 months with an average of 18.5 months. 100% of the lesions healed in an average of 48 hours of treatment, i.e. an average of 16 days. Electric current helps diabetic foot ulcers heal NEW YORK, Jul 11 2001 (Reuters Health) - A device that delivers high-voltage electric stimulation to the skin can help diabetic foot ulcers heal, preliminary study findings suggest. People with diabetes may develop foot ulcers as a result of poor circulation and a reduced ability to fight infection. Usually, ulcers are treated by cleaning and dressing the wound to keep it moist and resting the affected limb, but in some cases, damage can be severe enough to require amputation. According to a report in the June issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, patients who used an electric stimulation device in addition to standard treatment were more likely to heal. The study of 35 diabetic patients compared high-voltage, pulsed galvanic electric stimulation every night for 8 hours with an inactive placebo treatment that felt the same but delivered no current. Patients also underwent weekly removal of dead tissue, topical treatment and rest. Over 3 months, 65% of patients who received electric stimulation healed, compared with 35% of patients in the placebo group. It is not clear how electric stimulation aids in wound healing, but the researchers suggest that it may enhance blood flow and immune system cell function. "It's not a silver bullet," study author Dr. Lawrence A. Lavery of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, told Reuters Health, noting that the device should be used in combination with other measures. However, he added, "it is more promising than some pharmaceuticals that I've seen." There was no difference in the amount of time it took for wounds to heal among groups, the study found. Still, "the results of this study are quite promising and compare favorably with several recent reports in the medical literature on wound healing in persons with diabetes mellitus," Lavery and colleagues conclude. SOURCE: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2001;82:721-724.
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