Background and aim: The therapy of placing a living body in a static electric field by high voltage alternating current (EF-HVAC) has been developed in the field of complementary and integrative medicine in Japan. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the exposure of EF-HVAC ameliorated collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice.Methods: CIA was induced in female DBA/1 mice by the injection of anti-type II collagen antibody and lipopolysaccharide. The group of EF-HVAC treatment was exposed EF-HVAC with a high voltage value of 12.7 KV for 6 hours per day in the closed cage starting on the day of the injection with anti-type II collagen antibody and throughout the remaining study period.Results: Both clinical arthritis scores as well as histological findings of joint inflammation were significantly reduced in mice treated with EF-HVAC compared to untreated mice. Further, the treatment with EF-HVAC significantly inhibited the increased expression of interleukin -1? mRNA in paws at day 3 after induction of arthritis. In conclusion, the exposure to EF-HVAC protected from the synovial inflammation of CIA in mice.Conclusion: Based on these data, the beneficial effects of EF-HVAC on a murine rheumatoid arthritis model may be attributed to its anti-inflammatory properties.
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