Treatment of Parkinson's Disease with Magnetic Fields Reduces the Requirement for Antiparkinsonian Medications

Abstract

Recently, I reported that extracranial treatment with picoTesla range magnetic fields (MF) is an effective, safe, and revolutionary modality in the management of Parkinsonism including those patients manifesting levodopa-induced motor complications. This treatment, which has emerged as a potentially more advantageous modality than pharmacologic therapy, also produces improvements in nonmotor aspects of the disease including mood, cognitive functions, sleep, pain, appetite, autonomic functions, and sexual behavior, which are usually minimally, if at all, ameliorated by long term therapy with levodopa or anticholinergic agents. The present communication concerns a 69 year old Parkinsonian patient who, following a series of two treatments with extracranial picoTesla range MF on two separate days, improved to the point where he was able to discontinue most of his antiparkinsonian medications for a period of two weeks without experiencing deterioration in symptoms. On the third week he began to develop recurrence of symptoms and resumed taking his regular medications. At the end of the fourth week the patient received a series of four magnetic treatments on four successive days after he completely discontinued his antiparkinsonian medications. During this period he experienced a remarkable improvement in motor disability as well as in cognitive functions (i.e., visuospatial performance), mood, sleep, appetite, bowel functions and resolution of pain in the lower extremity. This report attests to the antiparkinsonian efficacy of picoTesla range MF and suggests that this treatment, when applied on a regular basis, may reduce the requirement for antiparkinsonian medications. This observation, when confirmed in a larger cohort of patients, may carry important implications for the therapy of Parkinsonism as it may offer an alternative treatment for patients who develop levodopa failure or experience intolerable side effects from dopaminergic medication. The observation that magnetic treatment improved the patient's symptoms while being off dopaminergic therapy supports the role of nondopaminergic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of Parkinsonism.

Key Words:

• Parkinson's disease
• magnetic fields
• levodopa
• visuospatial functions
• reticular formation
• pineal gland
• melatonin
• serotonin