Effect of weak electromagnetic fields on the amplitude of the pattern reversal VEP response in Parkinson's disease.

The International journal of neuroscience · 1996 · Benefit · Very low evidence

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BenefitVery low evidencePaper 5415

Three Parkinson's disease patients showed an almost 3-fold increase in mean pretreatment pattern reversal VEP amplitude after two successive brief extracerebral applications of picotesla-range, low-frequency electromagnetic fields. One patient also received a…

Study snapshot

PublicationThe International journal of neuroscience · 1996

Study typerandomized_trial

Reported directionBenefit

Evidence ratingVery low

Abstract

Visual evoked potential (VEP) studies are widely used for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and are also useful in monitoring the effects of various therapeutic modalities in the disease. Prolongation of the VEP latencies has been demonstrated in patients with MS and in other neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), a disorder characterized by deficient cerebral dopamine (DA) functions. Pharmacological and biochemical studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between the amplitude of the VEP response and cerebral DA levels. Since brief, extracerebral applications of picotesla (pT) range flux intensity electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of low frequency have been shown to produce rapid improvement in motor and cognitive symptoms in PD, it is expected that application these EMFs would lead also to an increase in the amplitude of VEP response. This report documents three randomly selected PD patients who, following two successive brief extracerebral applications of pT range EMFs, showed an almost 3-fold increase of the mean pretreatment amplitude of the pattern reversal VEP in response to monocular stimulation. One patient underwent also a placebo EMF treatment which did not result in a significant change in the posttreatment amplitude. The study demonstrates that in Parkinsonian patients extracerebral application of these EMFs rapidly increases in amplitude of the VEP response and, by inference, cerebral DA levels presumably by increasing DA release.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typerandomized_trial

Effect directionbenefit

PopulationParkinson's disease patients

Sample size3

Exposuretwo successive brief extracerebral applications

Evidence strengthVery lowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Pattern reversal visual evoked potential (VEP) amplitude (monocular stimulation)

Limitations

Very small sample size (3 patients)
Described as a report; limited details on randomization/blinding
Placebo comparison reported for only one patient
Exposure parameters not fully specified (exact frequency, waveform, dose)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "randomized_trial",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "other",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "two successive brief extracerebral applications"
  },
  "population": "Parkinson's disease patients",
  "sample_size": 3,
  "outcomes": [
    "Pattern reversal visual evoked potential (VEP) amplitude (monocular stimulation)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Three Parkinson's disease patients showed an almost 3-fold increase in mean pretreatment pattern reversal VEP amplitude after two successive brief extracerebral applications of picotesla-range, low-frequency electromagnetic fields. One patient also received a placebo EMF treatment that did not produce a significant posttreatment amplitude change.",
  "effect_direction": "benefit",
  "limitations": [
    "Very small sample size (3 patients)",
    "Described as a report; limited details on randomization/blinding",
    "Placebo comparison reported for only one patient",
    "Exposure parameters not fully specified (exact frequency, waveform, dose)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "very_low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "Parkinson's disease",
    "electromagnetic fields",
    "picotesla",
    "low frequency",
    "visual evoked potentials",
    "VEP",
    "pattern reversal",
    "placebo"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "clinical-neurology",
      "weight": 0.62,
      "reason": "Intervention study in Parkinson's disease assessing neurophysiological outcome (VEP)."
    },
    {
      "slug": "therapeutic-emf",
      "weight": 0.56,
      "reason": "Extracerebral application of weak (picotesla-range) EMFs as a therapeutic modality."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3109/00207459608987262
PubMed: 8707479

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