Our research focused on the antiproliferative effect of low intensity (18 Vpp) and intermediate frequency (100 KHz) electrostatic wave between two capacitive electrodes on breast tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. In vitro study has been conducted by using MCF-7 cell lines treated with external electrostatic for 24, 48, and 72 hours of treatment and the cells number were calculated during treatment by using hemocytometer and presented as Growth Inhibition (GI)% efficacy. For in vivo, we used female mice (Mus musculus) strain C3H as animal model. The mice were injected with either MCF-7 cells, mammary tumor cells from C3H donor, or NaCl 0.9% (placebo) subcutaneously into the axilla area and exposed by external electrostatic in each cage for 12 hours in 2 weeks before necropsied. The adjacent and breast tissue were collected and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin then analyzed for histopathological profile. In vitro study revealed the number of exposed cells decreased with lower proliferation rate than the non-exposed cells. Moreover, the external electrostatic caused 28-39% growth inhibition efficacy of MCF-7 cells. After 2 weeks of exposure, placebo mice were physically normal, whereas the tumor undergone significant shrinkage of more than 67% in size. Histopathological analysis of the mammary glands indicated infiltration of macrophages into the tumor area through the blood vessel. No abnormality was found in the skin layer and mammary glands of the breast tissue of placebo mice. Here, we present new knowledge of electro-capacitive cancer therapy (ECCT) as a novel treatment modality.

Background: Noncontact Electro Capacitive Cancer Therapy (ECCT) is a novel treatment modality in cancer. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) has a major role in the outgrowth of metastatic breast cancer. Interleukin 18 (IL18) plays a role in macrophage alteration, which leads to excessive angiogenesis. This study aims to elaborate on the association of CCL2, IL18, IL23α, and TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-alpha) expression with the anti-proliferative effect of ECCT in rat breast tumor tissue.   Methods: Low intensity (18 Vpp) and intermediate frequency (150 kHz) alternating current-electric field (AC-EF) between two capacitive electrodes were exposed as external EF to a rat cage. Twenty-four rats were divided into four groups of six replicates. Breast tumor tissues were collected from 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced rats. Two groups were non DMBA-induced rats without ECCT exposure (NINT) and with (NIT). The other two groups were DMBA-induced rats without ECCT exposure (INT) and with (IT). Mammary glands and breast tumor tissues were collected from each group and preserved. Hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining were performed on paraffin sections of tissues using anti-PCNA, anti-ErbB2, anti-Caspase3, and anti-CD68. CCL2, IL18, IL23α, and TNF-α mRNA relative expressions were analyzed using qRT-PCR. Results: ECCT exposure may cause the reduction of PCNA protein expression as well as ErbB2 on breast tumor tissues, but it causes the increase of Caspase3 and macrophage CD68 protein. In rat breast tumor tissues of IT groups, the mRNA expression of CCL2 and IL18 are significantly down-regulated, in contrast with the up-regulated expression of these cytokines in tumor tissues of the INT group. IL23α and TNF- α expression remained similar in both groups. Conclusion: CCL2 and IL18 expressions have an association with the inhibition of breast tumor cell proliferation affected by ECCT exposure

Background: p53 acts as a transcription factor to regulate the expression of genes that modulate various cellular activities. The proliferation of cancer cells has been inhibited under the exposure to low-intensity (18 peak-to-peak voltage) and intermediate-frequency (100 KHz) electric fields generated between 2 capacitive electrodes. Therefore, the aims of this study were to observe the molecular mechanism of cell death caused by noncontact electric field exposure and to determine whether p53 protein can serve as a biomarker for this exposure or not. Methods: Oral squamous cell carcinoma, HeLa, and bone marrow mesenchyme cells were exposed to noncontact electric fields of Electro-Capacitive Cancer Therapy (ECCT) for 24 h. To observe the mechanism of cell death caused by ECCT, immunocytochemistry of p53 was performed, and the p53 expression was evaluated using immunoreactive score (IRS) calculation. Results: Electric field exposure by ECCT increased the percentage of dead cells in oral cancer cells (18.39%), HeLa cells (6.60%), and bone marrow mesenchyme cells (34.05%) with statistical significance using the independent t test compared to each control group. The IRS of p53 in oral cancer, HeLa, and bone marrow mesenchyme cultures were 10.50, 11.25, and 4.94, respectively. Conclusion: The high IRS shown in the treated oral cancer and HeLa culture cells may suggest that p53 expression in these culture cells is associated with the cell death mechanism induced by the exposure to noncontact electric fields, and the increased cell death in these culture cells may correlate with the IRS.

This paper presents an EEG study for coherence and phase synchrony in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects. MCI is characterized by cognitive decline, which is an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a neurodegenerative disorder with symptoms such as memory loss and cognitive impairment. EEG coherence is a statistical measure of correlation between signals from electrodes spatially separated on the scalp. The magnitude of phase synchrony is expressed in the phase locking value (PLV), a statistical measure of neuronal connectivity in the human brain. Brain signals were recorded using an Emotiv Epoc 14-channel wireless EEG at a sampling frequency of 128 Hz. In this study, we used 22 elderly subjects consisted of 10 MCI subjects and 12 healthy subjects as control group. The coherence between each electrode pair was measured for all frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and beta). In the MCI subjects, the value of coherence and phase synchrony was generally lower than in the healthy subjects especially in the beta frequency. A decline of intrahemisphere coherence in the MCI subjects occurred in the left temporo-parietal-occipital region. The pattern of decline in MCI coherence is associated with decreased cholinergic connectivity along the path that connects the temporal, occipital, and parietal areas of the brain to the frontal area of the brain. EEG coherence and phase synchrony are able to distinguish persons who suffer AD in the early stages from healthy elderly subjects.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and is the leading cause of death amongst women with cancer. One novel therapy used for breast cancer treatment constitutes non-contact electric fields and is called electro-capacitive cancer therapy (ECCT) with intermediate frequency and low intensity. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of ECCT on mammary tumors growth in rats and observing the immune responses that play a role in fighting the tumor. Methods: Female SD rats were used and divided into four groups, namely control (NINT), placebo (NIT), non- therapy (INT), and therapy (IT) groups with 6 biological replicates in each group. Rats in INT and IT groups were treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene for mammary tumor induction. Only rats in NIT and IT groups were exposed to ECCT individually for 10 hours per day for 21 days. The size of all tumors was measured with a digital caliper. The distributions of PCNA, ErbB2, caspase-3, CD68, CD4, and CD8-positive cells were observed with immunohistochemistry and scoring with ImageJ. Results: The growth rate of mammary tumors in IT group was significantly lower (p<0.05) than that in INT group. The number of mitotic figures and the percentage of PCNA, caspase-3, and CD68-positive cells in IT group were significantly lower (p<0.05) than those in INT group. Conversely, the percentage of CD8-positive T cells in IT group was significantly higher (p<0.05) than that in INT group. Moreover, the CD4/CD8 ratio in IT group was found to have decreased. Some tumor tissues were blackened and detached from the surrounding tissue, resulting in an open wound which then healed upon exposure. Conclusions: Non-contact electric fields exposure showed inhibition on mammary tumor growth in rats while inducing CD8+ T cells, leading to tumor cell death and potentially helping wounds heal.