STRESS zyxwv MEDICINE, VOL. zyx 10 5-13 (1994) SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE RELAXATION EFFECTS zyxw OF LOW ENERGY EMISSION THERAPY LISA HIGGS, BA AND MARTIN REITE, MD zyxwv Department zyxwvuts of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, C O 80262, USA ALEXANDRE BARBAULT AND JEAN-PIERRE LEBET, DiplEng Symtonic SA, CH-1020-Renens, Switzerland CLAUDE ROSSEL, MD, PhD Clinique Bon Port, CH-1820-Montreux, Switzerland DAVID AMATO, PhD AND URANIA DAFNI, ScD Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA-02115. USA BORIS PASCHE, MD, PhD Symtonic SA, CH-1020-RENENS, Switzerland SUMMARY A device has been designed that allows the safe and homogeneous delivery of very low levels of amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields to human beings by placing a spoon-shaped antenna in the mouth of subjects. This new method has been termed low energy emission therapy (LEET). In two separate double-blind crossover studies performed on a total of 104 healthy volunteers, the potential relaxation effects of a 15-minute treatment with either an active or an inactive LEET device were investigated. All subjects were exposed to both active and inactive LEET treatment sessions, with an interval of at least 1 week between the two sessions. Blood pressure and pulse were recorded before and after treatment sessions and a subjective questionnaire was completed by the patient at the end of each treatment session. A decrease in systolic blood pressure zyxw (p = 0.016, two-tailed t-test) as well as a subjective feeling of warmth (p = 0.012, two-tailed McNemar test) and muscular relaxation (p = zy 0.005, two-tailed McNemar test) was noted following active treatment sessions. It is concluded that LEET induces relaxation in healthy volunteers which is associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure, no change in pulse, and a subjective feeling of warmth probably due to peripheral vasodilation. The data suggest that LEET may become a new therapeutic modality in the field of stress medicine. KEY WORDS-LEET, blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, electromagnetic fields, sleep, stress, relaxation. Low energy emission therapy (LEET) consists of the intrabuccal emission of low levels of amplitude- modulated electromagnetic fields and constitutes a promising new therapeutic modality in CNS dis- orders.’,’ The mechanism of action of LEET is believed to be mediated, at least partially, by modi- fications of neurotransmitter and ion release by neurons. Indeed, low intensity, extremely low fre- quency (ELF) amplitude-modulated radio fre- quency (RF) EM fields that induce tissue gradients of approximately the same amplitude as LEET in the fluid around neurons (1-10 V/m) have been Address for reprints: Boris Pasche, MD, PhD, The New York Hospital-Come11 Medical Center, 525 East 68th Street, Room F-436, New York, NY-10021, USA. shown to modulate calcium and GABA release in isolated chick cerebral cortex as well as in awake, intact cat cerebral cortex.” Also, low intensity electrical fields amplitude modulated at extremely low frequencies have been shown to increase the rate of occurrence of spontaneous EEG rhythms in cats’ and to have a sleep-inducing effect in humans.’ These findings suggest that such fields might be examined for evidence of clinically rele- vant behavioral effects in humans. We report the objective effects of a 15-minute treatment with a 42.7 Hz amplitude modulation of 27.12 MHz elec- tromagnetic fields on subsequent blood pressure, pulse and subjective sensations assessed by means of a questionnaire in a total of 104 healthy adult volunteers. 0748-8386/94/0 1 OOO5-O9$09.50 zyxwvuts 0 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.