Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2013 Apr 19;8(4):e61926. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061926. Print 2013.
The 'complex neural pulse'(TM) (CNP) is a neuromodulation protocol employing weak pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF). A pioneering paper reported an analgesic effect in healthy humans after 30 minutes of CNP-stimulation using three nested whole head coils. We aimed to devise and validate a stimulator with a novel design entailing a multitude of small coils at known anatomical positions on a head cap, to improve applicability. The main hypothesis was that CNP delivery with this novel device would also increase heat pain thresholds. Twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled in this double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover study. Thirty minutes of PEMF (CNP) or sham was applied to the head. After one week the other treatment was given. Before and after each treatment, primary and secondary outcomes were measured. Primary outcome was heat pain threshold (HPT) measured with thermal quantitative sensory testing. Other outcomes were warmth detection threshold, and aspects of cognition, emotion and motor performance. As hypothesized heat pain threshold was significantly increased after the PEMF stimulation. All other outcomes were unaltered by the PEMF but there was a trend level reduction of cognitive performance after PEMF stimulation as measured by the digit-symbol substitution task. Results from this pilot study suggest that our device is able to stimulate the brain and to modulate its function. This is in agreement with previous studies that used similar magnetic field strengths to stimulate the brain. Specifically, pain control may be achieved with PEMF and for this analgesic effect, coil design does not appear to play a dominant role. In addition, the flexible configuration with small coils on a head cap improves clinical applicability.
Dutch Cochrane Centre NTR1093.
“复杂神经脉冲”（TM）（CNP）是一种采用弱脉冲电磁场（PEMF）的神经调节方案。一份开创性的论文报告称，在使用三个嵌套的全头线圈对健康人类进行 30 分钟的 CNP 刺激后，出现了镇痛效果。我们旨在设计并验证一种具有新颖设计的刺激器，该设计采用了大量已知在头帽上的解剖位置的小线圈，以提高适用性。主要假设是，使用这种新型设备进行 CNP 输送也会增加热痛阈值。20 名健康志愿者参加了这项双盲、假对照、交叉研究。30 分钟的 PEMF（CNP）或假刺激应用于头部。一周后给予另一种治疗。在每种治疗前后，测量主要和次要结果。主要结果是使用热定量感觉测试测量的热痛阈值（HPT）。其他结果是温暖探测阈值，以及认知、情绪和运动表现的各个方面。如假设的那样，热痛阈值在 PEMF 刺激后显著增加。所有其他结果都不受 PEMF 影响，但 PEMF 刺激后认知表现呈趋势下降，如数字符号替代任务所测量的那样。这项初步研究的结果表明，我们的设备能够刺激大脑并调节其功能。这与以前使用类似磁场强度刺激大脑的研究结果一致。具体来说，疼痛控制可能可以通过 PEMF 实现，并且对于这种镇痛效果，线圈设计似乎没有起到主导作用。此外，头帽上带有小线圈的灵活配置提高了临床适用性。
荷兰 Cochrane 中心 NTR1093。
