Suppression of Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis in Rats Exposed Nocturnally to Magnetic Fields

Abstract

After inoculation with spinal cord and complete Freund' adjuvant, female Lewis rats were exposed to weak, 7 Hz complex magnetic fields or to the control condition. The computer-generated magnetic field, whose amplitude varied from 15 nT to 60 nT every 6 to 12 sec, was presented for 6 min every hour between midnight and 0800 of the scotophase. In two replicates of the experiment, the rats exposed to the field displayed statistically significant suppression relative to sham-field controls (effect size = 55%) of the overt symptoms of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis which included hindleg paralyses.

Key Words:

• Extremely low frequency magnetic fields
• rats
• experimental multiple sclerosis
• nocturnal exposures
• nanoTesla amplitudes