Extremely Low Frequency, Extremely Low Magnetic Environment for depression: An open-label trial

Masako Tachibana; Toshiya Inada; Hiroki Kimura; Mikako Ito; Yachiyo Kuwatsuka; Fumie Kinoshita; Daisuke Mori; Kinji Ohno

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104036

Extremely Low Frequency, Extremely Low Magnetic Environment for depression: An open-label trial

Asian J Psychiatr. 2024 Mar 26:96:104036. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104036. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Masako Tachibana¹, Toshiya Inada², Hiroki Kimura³, Mikako Ito⁴, Yachiyo Kuwatsuka⁵, Fumie Kinoshita⁵, Daisuke Mori⁶, Kinji Ohno⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Hospital, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
² Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan. Electronic address: inada@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
⁴ Division of Neurogenetics, Center for Neurological Diseases and Cancer, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
⁵ Department of Advanced Medicine, Nagoya University Hospital, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
⁶ Brain and Mind Research Center, Nagoya University, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.

PMID: 38555753
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104036

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been suggested to play a role in depression pathogenesis. This clinical trial (jRCTs042220011) was conducted to evaluate whether depression symptoms could be alleviated by an Extremely Low Frequency, Extremely Low Magnetic Environment (ELF-ELME), which has been found in basic research studies to enhance mitochondrial membrane potential. Participants were exposed to the ELF-ELME via a head-mounted magnetic field device (10 μTesla, 4 ms, 1-8 Hz/8 s) worn for 2 h per day for 8 consecutive weeks. Four male patients with treatment-resistant depression were enrolled. Significant reductions from baseline in the average total Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score were observed at 4, 6, and 8 weeks. ELF-ELME appears to ameliorate depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder safely and effectively, suggesting that it could be used as an alternative treatment for depressive patients who do not prefer to take antidepressants and in combination with antidepressant therapy for patients who only partially respond to pharmacotherapy.

Keywords: ELF-ELME; Major depressive disorder; Mitochondria; Open-label trial.