Microcurrent Research
Microcurrent Research is thin compared with traditional TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). Most microcurrent studies are on wound healing beginning in the 1960’s. There needs to be a strengthening, and publishing of research demonstrating what works and what doesn’t.
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Based on available microcurrent studies, there appears to be multiple mechanisms from multiple sources of information that may explain how microcurrent works but it is understudied. Traditional TENS devices (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) fall under the same FDA category as MENS (Microcurrent Electrical Nerve Stimulation) and has far more studies than microcurrent. Traditional TENS is accepted by mainstream science having "scientific ideas and theories" that are well-established. Acceptance of microcurrent will require far more data and well run research with good controls.
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​Bioelectric Medicine is an emerging field that studies the effects that electricity has on our body, and how our body produces electricity. Microcurrent is non-invasive electrotherapy that delivers sub-sensory electrical currents "of similar size to currents generated by our body." Although research may not be focusing to a great extent on microcurrent per se, microcurrent is part of this emerging field of medicine.
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This field is so promising that GalaxoSmithKline (GKS) Britain’s largest drug company has partnered with Google’s parent company, Alphabet to develop miniature electronic implants for the treatment of chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes. GSK has been involved in bioelectronic medicine since 2012 with plans to develop new patent treatments.
Brian Otis, Chief Technology Officer said, “This is an ambitious collaboration allowing GSK to have a huge impact on an emerging field. Bioelectronic medicine is a new area of therapeutic exploration, and we know that success will require the confluence of deep disease biology expertise and new highly miniaturised technologies.”
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Michael Levin, Researcher and Professor of Biology at Tufts University, School of Arts and Sciences said, “When cells and tissues are alive, there’s a bioelectric potential between the inside of a cell and the outside. As soon as that potential collapses, the cell is dead. I think it’s fair to say that bioelectricity is the spark of life.”
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Inspiration came when Levin was in a used book shop, and he picked up the book, The Body Electric published in 1985 by Orthopedic Surgeon Robert O. Becker. The book noted older research papers in tissue regeneration.
Levin explained. “We’re interested in how tissues and organs compute using electrical signals regulating our body’s neural networks. Bioelectric medicine could become "mainstream within the next decade for many of today's greatest health issues such as arthritis, asthma, depression, diabetes and improving cognition."
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Medicine is now in the thralls of pharmaceuticals. Overtime, the strength of science could demand a change in attitude. A paradyme shift in medicine is needed, but it will take time to educate people.
Research data may be grouped into four main types based on methods for collection: Observational, Experimental, Simulation, and Derived. Microcurrent research relies on experimental data. “Experimental data is collected through active intervention by the researcher to produce and measure change or to create difference when a variable is altered."
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Microcurrent Studies can be found at the following sources:
Science Direct-A platform of peer-reviewed literature, university libraries and institutions that offer access to their communities of researchers.
Research Gate-A European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions and find collaborators.
PubMed-A database of references and abstracts on the life sciences and biomedical topics.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) -A website devoted to medical research.
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References
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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/example/english/mainstream-science
https://libguides.macalester.edu/c.php?g=527786/&p=3608643
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https://as.tufts.edu/biology/people/faculty/michael-levin
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https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/mike-levin-on-electrifying-insights-into-how-bodies-form/
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https://www.the-scientist.com/shaping-brain-recovery-using-bioelectricity-71252\