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Direct current (DC) ablation is a novel non-thermal technology that causes focused coagulative necrosis in the lateral lobes of the prostate to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The necrosis is caused by a zone of non-physiologic pH which is created in a predictable pattern around each electrode in which a direct current is applied during treatment. The objective of this study was to optimize treatment parameters and assess treatment tolerability using transurethral DC ablation as an office-based treatment for BPH.

Introduction: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) takes up to 500,000 lives each year before a victim can even be treated. To address this the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) was developed to treat those identified at high risk of SCD. Unfortunately, there are a significant number of cases in which the ICD does not successfully return a victim to normal rhythm and effective perfusion of the blood., Methods: The vast majority of cases that are not responsive to the ICD therapy require cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to current resuscitation guidelines. A novel electrical stimulus called medium voltage therapy (MVT) has shown efficacy in producing coronary and carotid blood flow during ventricular fibrillation. This report presents the case that the same stimulus may be effective and feasible for use in ICD patients that do not respond to their ICD therapy, or do not have a rhythm in which, an ICD shock is indicated., Conclusion: The inclusion of MVT technology in implantable devices may be effective in preparing the heart for successful defibrillation or in improving the metabolic condition of the heart to the extent that a pulsatile rhythm may spontaneously develop.

Introduction: Direct current (DC) ablation offers the potential for precise targeting of tumors and stimulation of the immune system, but has not achieved widespread use. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact on tumor size and subject survival of combining a main ablation treatment with a low-current pretreatment, to assess potential immune system activation, and to assess stimulation-related parameters., Methods and Results: Twenty-six female Fischer 344 rats were injected with methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma cells to create primary tumors and again in the contralateral flank when primary tumors reached 700 mm(3) (contralateral tumors were proxies for metastases). There were four treatment groups: two control animals received no treatment; six control plus placebo animals had electrodes implanted but received no stimulation; eight received high-current stimulation (80 coulombs (C) of charge at 20 milliamperes (mA), over 66 minutes); and eight received high-current treatment one day after a low-current pretreatment (10C, 10 mA, 16.6 min). Electrodes were inserted through the tumor base in a single plane, 4.0mm apart, alternating anode and cathode. Treatments commenced once primary tumors reached 700 mm(3). All control animals were sacrificed 55 days after primary tumor cell injection due to excessive tumor growth. Tumors disappeared from all 16 treated rats within eight days; retreatment was required in two animals. Pretreatment had no effect on tumor disappearance or survival., Conclusion: Direct current ablation provides highly effective tumor destruction in a rat model. Slower growth of contralateral tumors suggests a remote effect that may involve the immune system.