HI Ray This is what I am after . Great !! > > I = > became interested in the possibilities offered by external magnetic = > fields after seeing references in Medline to papers by R. Sandyk, where = > he claimed that the application of low power low frequency magnetic = > fields to the skull provided considerable relief. What relief ? > > I got photostats of a number of Sandyk's papers, and found that the = > original work had been done in Greece, and had been used to treat = > epileptic seizures. The lead author was a Prof Anninos > of the University of Thrace, which I though gave it some credibility. = > The paper also gave a description of the device being used, which I have = > not seen repeated in other papers. > > A further line which I turned up was a paper by a Biophysicist, Dr. = > Jerry I. Jacobson, who had developed what he called the Jacobson = > Resonance theory, to explain how the Sandyk treatment worked. This paper = > was published in Pan Minerva Med., (1994:36 pp 201-5) which can be = > regarded as being more subject to peer review than Int.J.Neurosci. where = > Sandyk's papers are published, as Sandyk is a part owner and deputy = > editor of this =20 > > Subsequently Jacobson set up a company in Florida, called Pioneer = > International to develop and exploit devices based around his resonance = > theory. Reports of the companies progress used to appear fairly = > regularly on a web site associated with Yahoo business section, but the = > site disappeared about 6 months ago. > > I found a further, and completely independent strand when I came across = > the Medical Device and Instrumentation's site (MDI) which gave details = > of their Empluse device. This is worn round the patient's neck, and = > provides a much stronger magnetic impulse than used by Sandyk, but with = > the frequencies in the same range - 5-10 Hz.. These are set after = > taking readings from the patient's skull, and the device is set to give = > frequencies which MDI believe are optimum for the particular patient. = > The cost is around #40 for the first session, when patient details are = > taken and the device is setup. Subsequent sessions are around #20, and = > the device costs #160, but is hired out at #15/month whilst it is tried = > out. It is claimed that the impulses are picked up by the skin nerve = > cells and transmitted to the brain. They claim thier main success is in = > the treatment of migraine, slightly less success for MS, and a limited = > success for PD. > > We thought that, at the fees charged, it worth having a go, and Helen = > tried it for about a month. On the first settings it greatly = > exacerbated her tremor, she tried it a two other settings, both of which = > made the tremor worse, but not as much as the initial trial. Concerned = > that it might be doing permanent damage we discontinued its use. The = > only reason that I've dwelt so much on here, is that whilst I was = > initially very sceptical of it having any effect, I am now satisfied = > that the impulses do have some effect on the brain ( if not what we were = > looking for) and that people with migraine and MS may get some benefit. If my alt explanation of PD ir right then you should always discontinue if tremor gets worse . Increasing the spasm reinforces it . Last night while typing out my posting " alt explanation of PD " my leg started acting up as it does in the evening so I took the opportunity of putting the pads of the EMS/TENS machine on the instep of my foot . IT stooped the tremor provided I was continually altering either the intensity or the frequency . I was unable to find a frequency and intensity that permanently stopped the tremor .Any new setting would immediately stop the tremor but it would slowly build up again. . This suggest two possibilities 1) constantly varying electrical stimulation . 2 ) a feedback system that altered.the frequency/intensity to maximise the dampening effect . I use foot stimulation because there seems to be a lot of direct communication between the foot and the brain . This is a necessity if the body is to maintain its balance . Reflexology uses this fact also . > > I hope that some of the above will be of use to you, and save you = > reinventing the wheel. As you can see I am coming from a different angle . This might provide new answers . > > I also give below a number of items that I recovered from my files. = > There are some more there, but I'm sure that you find this message long = > enough. Please forgive any repetions which are present. > > With kind regards, > > Ray ([log in to unmask]) =20 > e.There have been a number of = > postings on the Listserver about Sandyk's treatment, and you can find = > these by going into the archives, which can be found in "Welcome to = > James" http:/James.Parkinsons.org.uk/ and using "Sandyk: as the search = > term. Probably the most informative is part of a report by some Danish = > Students who reviewed current treatment for Parkinsons in 1994, I give = > the relevant extract below: Thanks I tried 2 weeks ago these excelent archives for " magnet" ,but this information did not show . I tried today to look up MF therapy but could not raise the URL ( James) . Iwill go into everything in more detail when I have fully read it . > > " Magnetic field (MF) therapy has also been tried in treatment = > of PD. Reuven Sandyk have made a study of the effect of MF in = > parkinsonian patients. A summary theory of MF-therapy would be: The = > pineal gland is impacted by the magnetic fields, and melatonin ( a = > neuro-transmitter) secretion are inhibited. Melatonin is thought to = > inhibit dopamine production, therefore its inhibition would improve = > dopamine production. The treated patients experience mood elevation, = > less fatigue, clearer and louder speech, diminished tremor, better = > handwriting, better facial expression and more normal gait. The = > improvement of the symptoms last for 3 to 4 days. It is not clear, = > whether there are side-effects, or how the patient will respond to = > long-term treatment." Is the magnetic field pulsating ? I feel this theory is a bit weak. Sort of invented to explain the facts . I take 3 mg of melatonin at night . It seems to help me get a longer night's sleep . > > About a year ago Sandyk gave a demonstration of his treatment to a = > Symposium held at the Parkinson Klinic at Bad Nauheim, near Frankfurt, = > and a Dietmar Wessel gave a very encouraging report on the success of = > the treatment. The Klinic tried to come to an arrangement with Sandyk to = > carry out trials based on his work, but they were unable to come to a = > satisfactory arrangement, and I understand that they are carrying out = > work using picotesla therapy with equipment from other sources. I have = > no knowledge as to how these trials are going. > > The other analogous treatment I have come across is this field is that = > offered by MDI with their "Empulse" device. You will find details of = > this on their web site : =20 > > http://www.empulse.com/index.htm I just looked around this site . I was NOT impressed . NO theory of why it should work or test to show that it does work and in what conditions . I dont mind a suck it and see medecine but there has to be a rigorous assessment . My criticism of all PD drug medication is that no proper theory that even begins to accurately predict the effect of the medication . . I tried to hyppertext to the site justifying their medical basis ( Sandyk ) and got told that the site did not exist . I will try again soon and will reply more fully > > This device is worn round the neck, and whilst it gives a pulsed signal = > the magnetic field is much stronger than those used by Sandyk.It was = > developed in the UK by an electronic engineer who had been involved in = > a car accident and the hospital had used pulsed magnetic fields to = > accelerate healing. He was sufficiently impressed by this to see if he = > could cure his migraine by similar means and came up with the Empulse = > device, which it is claimed makes contact with the brain through the = > nerve cells in the skin. Something like 50 clinics in the UK offer this = > treatment. Most of them offer forms of alternative medicine, but there = > are several conventional medical practitioners on their list. It is = > aimed primary at migraine sufferers, where they claim an success rate = > in excess of 70%, and they only claim limited success with Parkinson's. = > In all cases there is a need to keep wearing the device, otherwise the = > symptoms return. They tell me that migrane sufferers can tell when the = > battery needs to changed as their migrane returns. I got more information from you than I got at the Web site . They were comparing their machine with others and it is all so wooly and vague I know someone who is using something similar for ME . > > > > I hope that all of the above has not bored you. Not in the least bored . But at present I cannot see why they choose those specific frequencies or strenths of magnetic fields or locations of these fields on a persons body . I am strickly a cause and effect person and only accept things when I see this pattern . My own feelings are = > that there is something in magnetic therapy for neurological diseases, = > and I would like some main stream research body to take it up. However = > as so much research nowadays is drug industry led, and there are no = > drugs involved in this therapy it is unlikely to be taken up in a major = > way. So far as Sandyk is concerned, which is where we started, I am very = > uncertain. My main reservation lies in the fact that Dr Iacona, who is = > a leading specialist in palidotomomy operations, collaborated with = > Sandyk in a number of his papers. Would he be drilling holes in peoples' = > heads if the cure was as easy as Sandyk's papers would imply?.With best = > wishes - I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas, and have a healthy 1998. > > Ray ([log in to unmask] =20 peace Alastair ( [log in to unmask] )