Healing Effects of Direct Current (DC) Application

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.