MEDIUM VOLTAGE:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1881954 Chronic dermal ulcer healing enhanced with monophasic pulsed electrical stimulation. The purposes of this randomized, double-blind, multicenter study were to compare healing of chronic dermal ulcers treated with pulsed electrical stimulation with healing of similar wounds treated with sham electrical stimulation and to evaluate patient tolerance to the therapeutic protocol. Forty-seven patients, aged 29 to 91 years, with 50 stage II, III, and IV ulcers were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (n = 26) or a control (sham treatment) group (n = 24). Treated wounds received 30 minutes of pulsed cathodal electrical stimulation twice daily at a pulse frequency of 128 pulses per second (pps) and a peak amplitude of 29.2 mA if the wound contained necrotic tissue or any drainage that was not serosanguinous. A saline-moistened nontreatment electrode was applied 30.5 cm (12 in) cephalad from the wound. This protocol was continued for 3 days after the wound was debrided or exhibited serosanguinous drainage. Thereafter, the polarity of the treatment electrode on the wound was changed every 3 days until the wound progressed to a stage II classification. The pulse frequency was then reduced to 64 pps, and the treatment electrode polarity was changed daily until the wound was healed. Patients in the control group were treated with the same protocol, except they received sham electrical stimulation. After 4 weeks, wounds in the treatment and control groups were 44% and 67% of their initial size, respectively. The healing rates per week for the treatment and control groups were 14% and 8.25%, respectively. The results of this study indicate that pulsed electrical stimulation has a beneficial effect on healing stage II, III, and IV chronic dermal ulcers. LOW VOLTAGE: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20046232 Ultra-low microcurrent in the management of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic wounds: report of twelve cases and discussion of mechanism of action. Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of both types of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. The low levels of antioxidants accompanied by raised levels of markers of free radical damage play a major role in delaying wound healing. Ultra-low microcurrent presumably has an antioxidant effect, and it was shown to accelerate wound healing. The purpose of the study is to investigate the efficacy of ultra-low microcurrent delivered by the Electro Pressure Regeneration Therapy (EPRT) device (EPRT Technologies-USA, Simi Valley, CA) in the management of diabetes, hypertension and chronic wounds. The EPRT device is an electrical device that sends a pulsating stream of electrons in a relatively low concentration throughout the body. The device is noninvasive and delivers electrical currents that mimic the endogenous electric energy of the human body. It is a rechargeable battery-operated device that delivers a direct current (maximum of 3 milliAmperes) of one polarity for 11.5 minutes, which then switched to the opposite polarity for another 11.5 minutes. The resulting cycle time is approximately 23min or 0.000732 Hz and delivers a square wave bipolar current with a voltage ranging from 5V up to a maximum of 40 V. The device produces a current range of 3 mA down to 100 nA. Twelve patients with long standing diabetes, hypertension and unhealed wounds were treated with EPRT. The patients were treated approximately for 3.5 h/day/5 days a week. Assessment of ulcer was based on scale used by National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Consensus Development Conference. Patients were followed-up with daily measurement of blood pressure and blood glucose level, and their requirement for medications was recorded. Treatment continued from 2-4 months according to their response. Results showed that diabetes mellitus and hypertension were well controlled after using this device, and their wounds were markedly healed (30-100%). The patients either reduced their medication or completely stopped after the course of treatment. No side effects were reported. The mechanism of action was discussed. INFO ON WAVEFORMS (muscle stimulation): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3261222 Effects of waveform on comfort during neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation is a commonly used clinical tool, but subject and patient comfort is still a major problem retarding its widespread application. Stimulus waveform in combination with pulse duration can play a major part in subject comfort. An asymmetric balanced biphasic square waveform was perceived as comfortable and was clinically effective in stimulating wrist flexor and extensor muscles. Subjects preferred the square waveforms over a paired spike monophasic waveform. In the larger quadriceps muscle group, a symmetric biphasic square wave was perceived as more comfortable than either a monophasic paired spike or any of three medium frequency waveforms. There seemed to be, however, a small subpopulation of subjects who consistently preferred the medium frequency waveforms. Medium frequency stimulation should be tried for those patients who have considerable difficulty adapting to the sensory input inherent with the use of surface electrical stimulation. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3873884 Effects of waveform parameters on comfort during transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Twenty-three females between the ages of 19 and 35 were studied in order to compare the effects of variations in pulse duration, waveform symmetry, and source regulation on comfort during quadriceps surface stimulation at amplitudes necessary to produce 27 Nm torque. Stimulation parameters compared were: 1) 50 and 300 microseconds pulse durations, 2) asymmetrical and symmetrical biphasic waveforms, and 3) current and voltage source regulation. Subjects overwhelmingly preferred the 300 microseconds pulse duration regardless of waveform or source regulation, strongly preferred the symmetrical biphasic waveform, and had inconsistent preference for either regulated voltage or regulated current sources. -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: <mailto:[email protected]> List Owner: Mike Devour <mailto:[email protected]>
