HISTORY

MICROCURRENT ELECTROBIOLOGICAL TREATMENT (MET) TIMELINE

Microcurrent Electrobiologic Treatment (MET) enhances the healing process by restoring homeostasis.

Acting as a catalyst, MET triggers and maintains the physiological reactions which occur in the cell during the recovery process.

Using MET KFHealth apparatus targets the therapeutic gap – patients whose symptoms are not relieved by appropriate drug therapy or those who are unable or unwilling to undergo surgery or take anti-inflammatory drugs. It also offers relief to patients to those subject to post-operative pain and contributes significantly to the speed of recovery of sports injuries and non-union fractures.

• 1960’s Research by Dr Peter Mitchell (1961) showed that a current with positively charged hydrogen particles was responsible for the production of ATP in living cells. He received the Nobel Prize in 1978 for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory – in recent years referred as 'bioenergetics', which is the study of those chemical processes responsible for the energy supply of living cells.
• 1970’s The scientists Robert Becker and Bjorn Nordenstrom discovered that the endogenous electrical activity of the body acts as an initiator, control mechanism or modulator of the post embryonic growth & healing processes. In lay terms, they discovered that a weak electrical current is the trigger that stimulates healing, growth and regeneration in all living organisms. They concluded that repair from injury occurs in response to signals that come from an electrical control system. (Becker et al. 1962, Becker 1967, 1974, Borgens 1982, Foulds and Barker 1983, Hinkle et al. 1981, Illingworth and Barker 1980, Patel and Poo 1982).
• 1980’s The scientists discovered that by enhancing the endogenous electrical activity of the damaged tissues, the growth and/or healing processes can be stimulated or enhanced. (Brighton et al. 1981, Brown et al. 1988, Carley and Wainapel 1985, Kincaid 1989, Kloth and Feedar 1988, Reed 1988, Rowley et al. 1974, Wheeler et al. 1969). Dr Ngok Cheng’s research showed that a controlled and weak electric stimulation increased Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) generation by almost 500% and that increasing the level of current actually decreased the results. It was also shown to enhance amino acid transport and protein synthesis. (Cheng et al 1982).
• 1990’s Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1991 was awarded to the two German scientist’s discovery concerning the function of single ion channels in cells. . They developed a technique to detect picoampere electrical currents in cell membranes, which allow positive or negatively charged ions into and out of the cells through 20 to 40 types of ion channels. Their research revolutionized modern biotechnology and confirmed that electrical activity is not limited to nerve and muscle tissue, as previously thought, but belongs to the essential nature of all kinds of other cells. All cells function in a similar way. In fact, life itself begins with a change in membrane potential.

Summary of Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann’s discovery

Each living cell is surrounded by a membrane which separates the world within the cell from its exterior. In this membrane there are channels, through which the cell communicates with its surroundings. These channels consist of single molecules or complexes of molecules and have the ability to allow passage of charged atoms, that is ions. The regulation of ion channels influences the life of the cell and its functions under normal and pathological conditions.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1991 is awarded for the discoveries of the function of ion channels. The two German cell physiologists Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann have together developed a technique that allows the registration of the incredibly small electrical currents (amounting to a picoampere - 10-12A) that passes through a single ion channel. The technique is unique in that it records how a single channel molecule alters its shape and in that way controls the flow of current within a time frame of a few millionths of a second.

Neher and Sakmann conclusively established with their technique that ion channels do exist and how they function. They have demonstrated what happens during the opening or closure of an ion channel with a diameter corresponding to that of a single sodium or chloride ion. Mercola and Kirsch (1995) continued the work and were the first to define the treatment as Microcurrent Electrical Treatment or M.E.T. From their findings it appeared that MET stimulated the growth of cellular physiology and that it had no significant side-effects.

Prof. Paul D. Boyer and Dr. John E. Walker, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom – Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1997. They received half the prize for their work on how the enzyme ATP synthase catalyses the formation of ATP. Boyer and his co-workers have proposed, on the basis of biochemical data, a mechanism for how ATP is formed from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate.

Walker and his co-workers have established the structure of the enzyme and verified the mechanism proposed by Boyer. ATP captures the chemical energy released by the combustion of nutrients and transfers it to reactions that require energy, e.g. the building up of cell components, muscle contraction, transmission of nerve messages and many other functions. ATP has been termed the cell's energy currency.

To summarize:

Research indicates that a controlled modified and weak current stimulates the production of Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP), restores the intra/extra-cellular sodium, potassium and calsium balance and increases the production of hydroxyprolin (important in collagen synthesis) which, in turn, triggers significant biochemical reactions on a cellular level. At the same time a drastic increase in the uptake of amino-isobutyric acid takes place, which is essential for protein synthesis and trans-membrane transport. It has also been found that the recovery of the cell wall prevents leakage of pain-causing substances (histamine, bradykinine, lactic acid) – leading to a significant reduction of pain. These processes have an analgesic, anti-inflammatory and healing effect on the affected body tissue.