Effect of Bio-Electro-Magnetic-Energy-Regulation (BEMER) Horse Therapy on Cardiopulmonary Function and Recovery Quality After Isoflurane Anesthesia in 100 Horses Subjected to Pars-Plana Vitrectomy: An Investigator-Blinded Clinical Study.
Authors: Brandenberger Olivier, Kalinovskiy Andrey, Körner Jens, Genn Hermann, Burger Ralph, Leser Stephan
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Researchers investigated whether Bio-Electro-Magnetic-Energy-Regulation (BEMER) therapy—a pulsed electromagnetic field treatment applied via a blanket during surgery—could improve cardiovascular stability and recovery outcomes in 100 horses anaesthetised with isoflurane for pars-plana vitrectomy to treat recurrent uveitis. Using a randomised, blinded design with matched placebo blankets, the team measured arterial blood pressure, blood gases, lactate, and creatine kinase (CK) at multiple timepoints whilst a blinded surgeon scored recovery quality on a 10–72 scale (lower scores indicating better recovery). Contrary to the hypothesis, the placebo group recovered significantly better with a mean score of 16.1 compared to 22.4 in the BEMER-therapy group, suggesting that the electromagnetic treatment may actually impair recovery quality; blood pressure and lactate showed non-significant trends towards improvement in the BEMER group, whilst CK and blood gas parameters remained equivalent between groups. Whilst the clinical significance of a 6-point difference in recovery scores warrants scrutiny, these findings challenge the purported benefits of BEMER therapy during equine anaesthesia and should prompt practitioners to reconsider its application perioperatively until mechanistic understanding and long-term safety data are better established.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •BEMER therapy applied during general anesthesia does not improve recovery quality in horses undergoing pars-plana vitrectomy and may warrant caution in clinical use despite theoretical benefits
- •Standard anesthetic and post-operative recovery protocols appear more effective than BEMER-assisted approaches in this surgical population
- •Further investigation is needed before recommending BEMER therapy as an adjunct to equine general anesthesia, despite the study's inability to demonstrate beneficial effects
Key Findings
- •Placebo group showed significantly better recovery quality (mean 16.1) compared to BEMER-therapy group (mean 22.4) on a 10-72 point scale
- •BEMER-therapy group demonstrated lower arterial blood pressure and blood lactate compared to placebo, though differences were not statistically significant
- •Creatine kinase and blood gas values were comparable between BEMER-therapy and placebo groups
- •BEMER therapy application during 15-minute intraoperative period showed a measurable but counterintuitively negative effect on post-anesthetic recovery quality in horses