Scientists have found that strong static magnetic fields can safely relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression in mice. They are believed to have high static magnetic fields may be an antidepressant treatment in the future.
Scientists recently conducted a series of studies to test the biosafety and neurobehavioral effects of 33.0 Tesla high static magnetic fields (SMF) using the self-designed biological research platform of the Stable High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF). The experiences of prof. Xin Zhang’s team at the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
They reported for the first time the biosafety of 30 Tesla level SMF and the neurobehavioral effects of 20 Tesla and 30 Tesla level SMF in healthy mice. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and European Radiology.
In recent years, ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has developed rapidly due to the significant advantage of high image resolution. 7 Tesla MRI has been clinically validated and 21.1 Tesla MRI has been successfully used in rodents. However, research on the biosafety of high magnetic fields above 20 Tesla is still scarce, and there is still a gap in relevant research above 30 Tesla.
Based on previous biosafety research of 3.5-23.0 Tesla SMF, Xin Zhang’s group further increased the intensity of the magnetic field and shortened the exposure time. Healthy C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 7.0–33.0 Tesla SMF for one hour.
Experiments on SHMFF. Credit: Yue Liu
After exposure, all mice were fed regularly for two months. Except for a few metabolic and liver and hepatorenal function indices, which were affected by the magnetic field, the total blood count and the organ coefficient of the histomorphology of the main organs were not significantly affected, most of the mice remained within the normal reference range.
Meanwhile, behavioral tests showed that high SMF reduced anxiety and improved social and spatial memory in mice within two months of exposure.
In addition to, Behavioral studies of healthy mice exposed to 3.5-23.0 Tesla magnetic fields for two hours also found improved neurocognitive effects that may be related to increased calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II expression in the mouse hippocampus.
Zhang’s group then found that 7 Tesla SMF could effectively relieve the symptoms of depressed mice. These results not only provide useful safety information for the development of ultrahigh MRT, but may also indicate that high SMF has potential as a future antidepressant treatment.
Reference: “Short and long-term effects of 3.5-23.0 Tesla ultrahigh magnetic fields on the behavior of mice” by Md Hasanuzzaman Khan, Xinfeng Huang, Xiaofei Tian, Changjie Ouyang, Dongmei Wang, Shuang Feng, Jutao Chen, Tian Xue, Jin Bao and Xin Zhang, March 16, 2022, European Radiology.
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-022-08677-8
This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Presidential Fund of the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, etc. supported by
