Exploring a new approach to treating brain injury: Anti-inflammatory effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields

摘要

The search for pharmacological therapies for acute brain injury has so far been unsuccessful, especially when it comes to translation of promising concepts from pre-clinical experiments to positive results in clinical trials. A vast number of deleterious secondary injury mechanisms have been identified in animals and patients, some appearing moments after the initial injury and others emerging hours or days later. Inhibition or neutralization of these processes in experimental models of ischemia, intracranial hemorrhage or traumatic brain injury (TBI) generally results in neuroprotection. However, trying the same concept in patients has never yielded results good enough to bring the substances into clinical practice [23]. Whether one blames the failures on the limitations of the experimental methods or the heterogeneity of the patient cohorts, it may be time to think outside the box in order to find successful treatment strategies.