GASTRIC ACIDITY
25. Kotter, Gary S., Henschel, Ernest O., Hogan, Walter J., and Kalbfleisch, John H. Inhibition of gastric acid secretion in man by the transcranial application of low intensity pulsed current. Gastroenterology. 69:359363, 1975.
Device: Electrodorn I: 100 Hz, 1 mS, 0.1 - 1.5 mA, rectangular wave, cathodes frontal,
anodes occipital
Following up on an earlier positive study in primates, 5 hospitalized adult male volunteers from 28 to 58 years old completed informed consent and had their basal acid secretion rate in their stomachs measured by intragastric titration utilizing a pHsensitive telemetry capsule that was swallowed while held on a tether outside the subject's body. On a randomized basis, no current was passed through the electrodes during one of the tests, whereas a mean of 1 mA was applied during the other. Acid secretion was halted during or after CES. In a second study, 12 subjects had histaminestimulated acid output reduced by an average of 30% with CES, with individual reductions ranging from 5.7% to 53.2%. There was no acid reduction during simulated CES treatments. A third study showed histamine-stimulated maximal acid output (MAO) decreased by 6.3 - 46.5%, with an average of 27.3% below control values in 6 volunteers. Acid secretion gradually began again when CES was terminated. The results of all 3 studies (N = 23) indicate that CES can cause a highly significant reduction in both basal and histamine stimulated gastric acid output. No side effects were reported.