Alpha-Stim Microcurrent Electrical Therapy

The new buzz in town – Alpha-Stim Microcurrent Electrical Therapy

Amid the furore around leading US researcher Dr. S. Reuben's fabrication of painkiller drug study results – including studies of Vioxx and Celebrex - and the rising concern about the costs and side effects of pain drugs and antidepressants, health professionals are on the lookout for safer and more effective solutions for their patients.

One such solution has been in mainstream use in the US and Europe for 28 years, and has just arrived in New Zealand. This is called Microcurrent Electrical Therapy (MET), or when applied on the head, Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES). And the only product approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to deliver this therapy is Alpha-Stim.

Alpha-Stim is a medical device that sends a tiny current of a specific waveform through areas of pain, or through the brain. In some cases, results are felt in minutes, although a number of treatments over several days or longer are often needed.

Alpha-Stim is now distributed in New Zealand by Medistim (NZ) Ltd, and promises to treat many types of acute and chronic pain, as well as anxiety, depression and insomnia. In over 126 studies, 35 of them double-blind, over 90% of patients reported significant positive results. There were adverse effects in less than 0.5% of patients; all of which were mild, reversible symptoms such as dizziness, headache and skin irritation.

Alpha-Stim was developed in 1981 by US neurobiologist Dr.Daniel Kirsch, who had explored acupuncture and electromedicine in the search for effective pain treatment. For his work Dr. Kirsch has been awarded many accolades, and was recognized as the 2007 International Health Professional of the Year in Stress Medicine by the International Biographical Centre (UK). He has written for and edited various peer-reviewed journals and books.

Starting in 1981 as large, expensive machines, Alpha-Stim has become a sleek, affordable and reliable hand-held precision device.  It is approved by the US FDA, CE, Australian TGA and New Zealand's Medsafe. It comes in three models: Alpha-Stim 100 for pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia management mainly in the clinic; and two smaller models for home-use – Stress Control System  for depression, anxiety and insomnia, and Personal Pain Manager for chronic pain.

John Hyde, Medistim's director, says, “I got involved in Alpha-Stim through my brother in Australia, psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Hyde, who had had very impressive results with it. My studies of the literature, and the feedback we are getting from New Zealand practitioners, make me believe this treatment method has great potential for sufferers of pain, stress and even severe mood disorders here in New Zealand.”

He continues, “MET is different from TENS, which has been in use here for many years. TENS machines work by blocking pain signals, and offer only temporary relief. Research has found that MET goes further, inducing the body's healing processes. Thus the results with Alpha-Stim are cumulative and often long-term.”

To find out more about Alpha-Stim, and MET visit www.medistim.co.nz

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