Background: Activation of immunologically competent cells results in the overproduction of pro-inflammatory factors, and causes progression of nerve tissue damage. However, the potential neuroprotective effects of these factors in brain damage have not been well investigated.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) treatment on the molecular mechanism of inflammatory cytokine activity in post-stroke patients.
Methods: All patients underwent the same rehabilitation program, but the ELF-EMF group were also given ELF-EMF treatment. Both groups have been used in our previous studies. In order to determine the plasma level of cytokines, the levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (INF-γ) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) were evaluated, and the level of IL-1β mRNA expression was determined.
Results: After ELF-EMF treatment, both IL-1β plasma level and IL-1β mRNA expression level, as well as IL-2 plasma level increased, while IFN-γ and TGF-β levels did not change.
Conclusion: The increased expression of IL-1β found in this study may be a response to ELF-EMF stimulation. It is hypothesized that a neuroprotective role of this cytokine may occur due to IL-1β-dependent regulation of neurotrophic factors. Further research is needed to explore this hypothesis.
Keywords: extremely low frequency electromagnetic field treatment; interleukin 1; rehabilitation; stroke.