Magnet Therapy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that repeat stimulation of certain brain regions with magnets can help alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating psychiatric condition that can occur after exposure to life-threatening events, such as military combat or violent personal assault. A region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex has an "important role in mediating responses to stressful situations," Dr. Hagit Cohen and colleagues from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel note in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
In an earlier study, two patients with PTSD experienced improvements after treatment with magnetic stimulation, they add.

In the current study, the group evaluated the therapeutic effects of low- and high-frequency magnetic therapy as compared with fake therapy in 24 patients with PTSD.
High-frequency therapy had greater beneficial effects than low-frequency or fake therapy. Patients in the high frequency group also showed far greater reductions in anxiety than did those in the low-frequency group. Several patients in both magnetic therapy groups reported improvements in sleep after being treated.
Based on this small, preliminary study, trials of high-frequency magnetic therapy "may be a promising avenue for further research with PTSD patients," the authors conclude.
SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, March 2004.