PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MILLIMETER WAVE THERAPY

Abstract

Millimeter Wave (MW) Therapy is the application of low-intensity millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic waves in the treatment of a large variety of diseases including cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, dermatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, wound healing, pain relief, and the reduction of toxic side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. MWs, a form of microwaves, are non-ionizing and are administered onto a localized area of the skin at a sufficiently low intensity that there is no perceptible heating. The three most common frequencies used are 42.2, 53.6, and 61.2 GHz. In addition to its demonstrated effectiveness, it is a non-invasive, painless, relatively inexpensive modality with exceedingly rare and minor side effects. Although MW therapy has been and continues to be used extensively throughout the former Soviet Union with very impressive successes, it is virtually unknown to Western physicians. Reasons for the lack of acceptance in Western Countries include: (1) the lack of well described reports in peer-reviewed scientific journals, (2) the lack of well controlled, double-blind clinical trials, and (3) the lack of any known and accepted mechanism explaining how a localized MW exposure on the skin can be therapeutic in a large number of remote or generalized pathologies. Consequently, the Center for Biomedical Physics at Temple therapy: its validity, its effectiveness, and most of all the mechanisms underlying its effectiveness. The chain of events initiated by MW exposure of the skin is still not fully understood.