Smith, Ray B. Is microcurrent stimulation effective in pain management? An additional perspective. American Journal of Pain Management, 11(2):62-66, 2001.

This is a peer-reviewed analysis of 2,500 consecutive survey forms from warranty cards completed by patients who were prescribed Alpha-Stim microcurrent electrical therapy (MET) and cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES). The only inclusion criteria were that the patients used their Alpha-Stim for at least 3 weeks. 1,949, or 78% of the total listed pain as their primary diagnosis. Of those, 93% claimed significant pain reduction of greater than 25% improvement, ranging from a low of 82% in chronic regional pain syndrome (RSD) to a high of 98% in those suffering from migraine headaches and 100% in carpal tunnel syndrome.  72% of the patients were female. The age ranged from 15 to 92 years with a mean of 50 years. The length of use ranged from the 3 week minimum cutoff period to 5 years in 2 cases. The average period of use was 14.68 weeks, or just over 3 1/2 months. The results reported by these patients were only 2% off a previous physician survey of 500 patients (the patients self-reports giving slightly higher ratings overall) reported in the book, The Science behind Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation by Dr. Daniel L. Kirsch.

Condition N Slight <24% Fair 25-49% Moderate 50-74% Marked 75-100% Significant >25% Pain (all cases) 1949 136 6.98% 623 31.97% 741 38.02% 449 23.04% 1813 93.02% Back Pain 403 20 4.96% 109 27.05% 157 38.96% 117 29.03% 383 95.04% Cervical Pain 265 18 6.79% 69 26.04% 125 47.17% 53 20.00% 247 93.21% Hip/Leg/Foot Pain 160 6 3.75% 43 26.88% 53 33.13% 58 36.25% 154 96.25% Shoulder/Arm/Hand Pain 150 13 8.67% 41 27.33% 63 42.00% 33 22.00% 137 91.33% Carpal Tunnel 25 0 0.00% 5 20.00% 17 68.00% 3 12.00% 25 100.00% Arthritis Pain 188 11 5.85% 51 27.13% 88 46.81% 38 20.21% 177 94.15% TMJ Pain 158 17 10.76% 60 37.97% 60 37.97% 21 13.29% 141 89.24% Myofascial Pain 62 6 9.68% 18 29.03% 18 29.03% 20 32.26% 56 90.32% RSD 55 10 18.18% 16 29.09% 19 34.55% 10 18.18% 45 81.82% Fibromyalgia (alone) 142 13 9.15% 53 37.32% 52 36.62% 24 16.90% 129 90.85% Fibromyalgia (with other) 363 33 9.09% 131 36.09% 152 41.87% 47 12.95% 330 90.91% Migraine 118 2 1.69% 49 41.53% 30 25.42% 37 31.36% 116 98.31% Headaches (all other) 112 20 17.86% 30 26.79% 24 21.43% 38 33.93% 92 82.14% Psychological (all cases) 723 61 8.44% 175 24.20% 237 32.78% 250 34.58% 662 91.56% Anxiety (alone) 128 13 10.16% 29 22.66% 42 32.81% 44 34.38% 115 89.84% Anxiety (with other) 370 33 8.92% 85 22.97% 122 32.97% 130 35.14% 337 91.08% Anxiety/Depression 58 3 5.17% 19 32.76% 19 32.76% 17 29.31% 55 94.83% Depression (alone) 53 7 13.21% 11 20.75% 23 43.40% 12 22.64% 46 86.79% Depression (with other) 265 29 10.94% 61 23.02% 93 35.09% 82 30.94% 236 89.06% Stress 123 6 4.88% 30 24.39% 39 31.71% 48 39.02% 117 95.12% Chronic Fatigue 50 3 6.00% 30 60.00% 10 20.00% 7 14.00% 47 94.00% Insomnia 163 10 6.13% 47 28.83% 47 28.83% 59 36.20% 153 93.87% Figure 1. Self-reported results of 2,500 patients who used Alpha-Stim technology for at least 3 weeks.