NORMALIZATION OF ABNORMAL-CELL PROLIFERATION BY MEANS OF ELECTRIC CURRENTS

There is ample evidence that the application of diverse electric currents (direct currents and low frequency alternating currents) induces or accelerates healing of chronic wounds such as decubitus ulcers or wounds due to vascular diseases, e.g. in diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, there is also reasonably well documented evidence that externally applied electric currents may retard the growth of tumors. Since in the case of wound healing electric currents seem to induce and/or accelerate, whereas in cancer the same currents seem to inhibit cell division, we are left with diametrically different actions of externally applied electric currents and associated electric fields within the tissue tending to >>normalize<< the proliferation mechanisms of the cell. In this article we propose a hypothesis which offers an explanation for the >>normalizing<< effect of electric currents on cell proliferation.