Magnetic spasm therapy (MST) is a new form of treatment for depression. It offers promising cures for patients who have failed to improve with both medication and psychotherapy. In this procedure, a powerful epileptic seizure is triggered in the patient’s head via two headphone-like coils. In the experiment, which lasts only a few moments, a strong magnetic field is built up one hundred times per second, through which large amounts of neurotransmitters and blood are abruptly directed even to previously undersupplied areas of the brain.
What is magnetic spasm therapy?
Researchers suspect that this reaches areas of the brain that may trigger depression. At the same time, the growth-promoting signaling substances can stabilize neuronal connections that are often weakened in people with mental illness. This is precisely what has not been possible with drugs until now. The magnetic method works in a similar way to electroconvulsive therapy, which has been known since the 1940s and which also induces a shock attack in the brain by emitting strong electrical impulses. However, several serious side effects occur, such as prolonged memory impairment, temporary disorientation, headache, migraine, muscle discomfort, dizziness, speech and movement disorders, and nausea. These have not yet been observed with magnetic spasm therapy. It is performed under general anesthesia of the patient and can stimulate specific brain areas in a very targeted manner. In order to have a long-term effect, magnetic spasm therapy must be repeated after five to six months. In 50 to 60 percent of the people on whom magnetic therapy has been tested so far, progress in the fight against depressive states has been recorded. Test subjects unanimously reported a brightened mood and increased drive to act. However, the exact mechanisms of action of the method have not yet been extensively researched.
Function, effect, and goals
Depression has been the most common mental illness for years. In Germany, it is assumed that about four million people suffer permanently from depressive states. However, a high number of unreported cases can be assumed. In addition, many patients have not responded to drug and psychotherapeutic treatments for years. Magnetic spasm therapy can now offer them new perspectives for overcoming depression. Experience with MST to date indicates that noticeable improvements can occur in the social and interpersonal behavior of mentally ill people. Memory abilities immediately after awakening from anesthesia are significantly better among MST subjects than previously known with electroconvulsive therapy. Scientists have also found that specific brain areas of depressed people are interconnected to a greater degree than in healthy people. This peculiarity is called hyperconnectivity. Magnetic spasm therapy, in turn, can be used to throttle this unnaturally increased communication of the brain areas in question. In this case, the explosive shock would trigger something like a short-circuit in hyperactive brain areas, possibly mitigating the disease of depression. This is especially important for long-term and severely depressed patients, who are often scarred by very many and complicated medications and have already been afflicted several times by severe manias, psychoses and delusions. For suicidally endangered, seriously ill patients, magnetic spasm therapy is not infrequently the last hope in their lives. Similar to an EKG, numerous cables are attached to a patient’s body in preparation for magnetic spasm treatment. These sensors are used to measure brain waves, heart rate and blood pressure. Before the anesthetic is administered via a face mask, the patient is given a special substance to relax the muscles. Once the magnetic coils have been attached to the head, the actual seizure therapy lasts only about six seconds until the patient awakens from general anesthesia. What happens in the head during this short time is compared by doctors to a computer reboot. Immediately after the epileptic seizure in the brain, the usual brain activity decreases. After about a minute, however, it has returned to its normal level.
Risks, side effects and dangers
Magnetic therapy is considered a naturopathic procedure in its fundamentals and has been known since early antiquity. At that time, magnetic stones were used to relieve a wide variety of ailments. The spectrum ranged from inflammations to injuries to bone diseases. Depending on their strength, the magnetic fields created have an influence on the movement of atomic nuclei in the human body and its tissues. If the uniform angular momentum of the atomic nuclei is disturbed, the magnetic fields can restore it to its original state. Naturopathy assumes that an altered alignment of the atomic nuclei and particles in the body can lead to illnesses or complaints. Magnetic field therapy is able to stabilize the rhythm of particle movements. Thus, it has a great influence on the self-healing powers of the human organism. It is used, for example, in pain treatment against arthrosis, rheumatism, poliomyelitis, secondary diseases of diabetes and migraine. Infections, allergies and weakening of the immune system can also be treated gently with magnetic field therapy. Improvements due to the effect of magnetic fields have also been achieved in diseases of the spine, metabolic disorders and blood pressure disorders. In the case of serious diseases, however, successful therapy is tied to very strong magnetic fields. Here fundamental treatment successes could be described so far only in some medical fields. The magnetic field used for cramp therapy in the brain is 2 to 4 Tesla strong. In comparison, a commercially available small magnet has the strength of 0.1 Tesla.
