The Science Behind CES Ultra

CES Brings Restful Sleep to Patients at Multi-Patient Rehabilitation Center

Reestablishing a normal sleep pattern is a significant milestone on a client’s road to recovery. Many different factors influence when that will occur: age, lifestyle, drug of choice, pattern of use, state of health, etc.

Many studies have been compiled confirming the effectiveness of using low-current electrical stimulation (CES) to help promote sleep. Many studies have also been done confirming specific biochemical interventions to help normalize sleep. Our institution can add to these observations since we make use of both protocols simultaneously. Before CES arrived, we addressed insomnia by prescribing a variety of natural chemicals: the hormone melatonin; calming amino acids GABA, L-tryptophan, and taurine; a unique product called Bio-GH Releasers, which helped to stimulate the production of human growth hormone to stimulate a deep restful sleep; the mineral magnesium, often depleted to alarmingly low levels in chronic alcoholics.

Weekly check-ins done in a group setting allows clients to update how well they are sleeping. After CES became part of our standard treatment protocol, turnaround time for normalizing sleep was faster. Some generalities can be stated about different addicts. Those who abuse drugs that rob excitatory neurotransmitters (cocaine, amphetamines) generally have no problem sleeping, although, staying awake has sometimes been a problem. Many alcoholics come to rely on a drink to knock them out. Once they become abstinent, sleep becomes a problem, sometimes lasting for several weeks. Using CES, they generally normalize their sleep in two days to a week. The most difficult people to return to normal sleep patterns are those getting off prescription drugs — anti-anxiety, antipsychotic, and sedative drugs in particular. Without CES, normal sleep patterns can elude these people for months. Because it is often necessary to wean off these potent drugs, it takes more time before sleep normalizes for them; however, with CES and specific biochemical repair, most return to normal sleep within three weeks.

CES Decreases Anxiety, Improves Cooperativeness & Motivation in 16-Year-Old Male

Thirty Day Clinical Trial of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) in Adolescent Patient with Anxiety and Developmental Deviation with Hyperkinetic Element

J.* is a sixteen-year-old Caucasian male with a history of psychiatric treatment, including medication intervention for developmental deviation with a hyperkinetic element. His history of school functioning had been very poor, with low motivation to succeed. His father reports that J. would often experience feelings of anger and anxiety with behavioral acting out. During the initial psychological evaluation, he had great difficulty attending to tasks presented to him, was emotionally labile, and on a measure of depression he scored at the 24th percentile, while on a measure of anxiety he scored at the 2nd percentile with present moment (state) anxiety and at the 27th percentile with general proneness (trait) anxiety. On the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Full Scale, intellectual functioning was in the Average range (Full Scale IQ = 96) with verbal area functioning in the Low Average range (Verbal IQ = 81) and performance area functioning in the Superior range (Performance IQ = 122).

After thirty days daily usage of at least forty-five minutes with the CES device, he was again administered a psychological evaluation. On the same measure of depression J. scored at the 1st percentile, while on the same measure of anxiety he scored at the 3rd percentile with present moment (state) anxiety and at the 16th percentile with general proneness (trait) anxiety, a noticeable decrease with his levels of depression and trait anxiety. On the WAIS-R Full Scale intellectual functioning was in the High Average range (Full Scale IQ = 111) with verbal area functioning in the Low Average range (Verbal IQ = 88) and Performance area functioning in the Very Superior range (Performance IQ = 139).

Higher scores in the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale areas indicated a gain of more than three standard deviations which by chance alone would occur in less than two in ten thousand cases (p<.0002). He was observed to be much more at ease with a noticeable improvement in his affect and cooperativeness as well as his ability to not only stay on task, but more motivation to do well with tasks. His mother stated that his ability to tolerate difficult situations and tasks was greatly improved as was his mood and that it was much easier and more pleasant to be around him.

CES Intervention Diffuses Anger, Decreases Hyper-Irritability, & Improves Health of 21-year-old Female College Student after Other Therapies Fail

The patient is a twenty-one-year-old female college student whose learning disability took the form of hyperactivity turned inward where it emerged as a self punitive hyper-irritability.

Rage states could be triggered by someone in the classroom dropping a pencil nearby, a teaching assistant looking over her shoulder, a nearby student tapping his toe, someone snuffling his nose nearby, students leaving early and letting the door slam, or a teacher lecturing and writing on the board at the same time. At such times the patient would sometimes leave the room, go somewhere and cry cathartically in self anger for having become irritable.

Throughout childhood she was often sick, was known for carrying tissues at all times, could not digest her food if she ate just prior to going to school, and could not digest “junk food” snacks eaten during the school day. Anything sweet was a special digestion problem.

She could not mobilize and focus her energy for more than three hours at a time during the day, was always tired, never standing when she could sit, and never walking when she could ride. In any case, she needed to nap every three hours for ten to twenty minutes in order to make it through a school day. This she did by putting three chairs together in the library stacks and sleeping on them. Yet she had good learning and memory skills during the few calm moments of her day. She also studied better at night after the family was in bed.

Various treatments were tried with this patient, including visits to other physicians, chiropractors, educational kinesiologists, and holistic therapists. She was given enzymes, thyroid tests, massage for “tight intestines,” brain entrainment audio tapes, vitamin B shots, and work with an “alpha pacer.” The vitamin B helped her energy level when it sagged, the entrainment tapes and “alpha pacer” helped temporarily. Light and sound stimulators were not effective.

A year ago, the patient was introduced to Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES) which made significant improvements early on. She used it 45 minutes per day at first, then began wearing the device also during college examinations. Presently she wears the device twice a day for an hour and a half.

Her hyper-irritability has subsided, her energy level has balanced out, she no longer carries a box of tissues everywhere she goes, and most significantly she is able to concentrate and learn with greater ease. She now gets up in the morning without encouragement, functions well in early morning classes, no longer needs to frequently nap during the day, and is completing her studies with less effort and worry. Her digestive system is functioning normally even as she continues to eat junk food.

She observed early on with the CES and that when the device was in use “it numbed my anger” so on one occasion when she desired to feel anger, act it out, and cry as in the past she refused to wear the CES device until she had finished “having my fit.”

CES intervention was also associated with the cessation of a difficult premenstrual tension syndrome. She reports no further menstrual cramps since using the device and states “I am not witchy anymore” during her menstrual periods. She states that she is no longer bothered by the chronic fatigue that so dramatically affected her earlier learning efforts. Her educational therapist reports she is now functioning normally for an adult college student with superior intelligence.

CES Ultra Improves Sleep, Reduces Anxiety, Irritability in 14-year-old Male

We’ve been doing a trial with the CES Unit the past week. The subject was DS*, our 14 year old with diagnosed insomnia, anxiety, and depression. He used the unit for 20 minutes per day, at bedtime.

I would rate the improvement in apparent anxiety to be significant. Anxieties are no longer a major topic of discussion. DS is starting to leave the house on his own for activities other than school. He has walked outside for exercise many days since starting the program. Last night he performed with his school orchestra and said he did not feel strung out about it like he usually has in the past. He settled down well afterwards, which is a first.

Insomnia has shown moderate improvement. We had hoped for more improvement in that department, but perhaps we will see this continue over a longer term. DS does like to use it at bedtime, finds it easier to fall asleep. He is no longer asking for a prescription for sleeping pills. But still some early-morning wakening, etc.

My DH and I find our son more talkative, less defensive, and quite a bit more mellow in the past week. That is something we have not seen for a long time. Irritability has been markedly decreased … now closer to normal teenage irritability than what we endured before. I suspect the reduced anxiety is contributing to the mellower kid.

Side effects: DS feels dozy after using it. Would not do a treatment just before driver’s ed. No negative side effects otherwise noted.

Our family gives CES an “A” grade and a “thumbs up.” The unit’s positive effect on our anxious, depressed, irritable, insomniac teen has taken a lot of stress off of the entire family.

Klawansky S, Yeung A, Berkey C, Shah N, Phan H, Chalmers TC., Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of cranial electrostimulation. Efficacy in treating selected psychological and physiological conditions. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1997 Dec; 185 (12): 766-7

Researchers conducted an extensive literature review of cranial electrostimulation (CES) efficacy that identified 18 of the most carefully conducted randomized controlled trials of CES versus sham treatment. For the 14 trials that had sufficient data, the techniques of meta-analysis was used to pool the published results of treating each of four conditions: anxiety (eight trials), brain dysfunction (two trials), headache (two trials), and insomnia (two trials). Because studies utilized different outcome measures, an effect size method was employed to normalize measures which were then pooled across studies within each condition. The meta-analysis of anxiety showed CES to be significantly more effective than sham treatment (p < .05).

Shealy, C. et al, Depression: A diagnostic, neurochemical profile and therapy with CES, J of Neuro. & Ortho. Med Surg. 10(4): 319-21, 1989.

Research was conducted with 4 groups: (1) “normal group”, (2) intractable chronic pain, (3) chronic pain with depression, and (4) longstanding depression unresponsive to medication. Psychological tests, serotonin and cholinesterase levels were measured pre and post. Depressed patients improved most with treatment; 60% reported improvement, 44% of the pain patients reported improvement. In the depressed patients, after treatment, both serotonin and cholinesterase levels improved significantly.

Treatment of Anxiety-Schmitt, R. Capo, T. & Boyd, E. CES as a treatment for anxiety in chemically dependent persons. Alcoholism: Clinical and experimental Research. 10(2): 158-160, 1986.

60 substance abusers, mean age 33.9, were given either CES (30), sham CES (10), or (20) no experimental treatment. Four psychological measures administered pre and post. CES and sham patients received 30 min. of treatment daily for 15 days. Treatment t-tests reveal CES patients had significantly greater improvement in anxiety levels than did either control group. No placebo effect noted.