Freedom from disability at 90 days higher with active than sham ENTF therapy; no device- or procedure-related serious adverse events reported
THURSDAY, Jan. 29, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For patients after ischemic stroke, extremely low-frequency, low-intensity electromagnetic field brain stimulation (electromagnetic network-targeted field [ENTF] therapy) reduces disability, according to a study scheduled to be presented at the annual American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 4 to 6 in New Orleans.
Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D., from the David Geffen Medical School at UCLA, and colleagues pooled individual patient data from two double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trials enrolling participants four to 21 days post-ischemic stroke with a baseline modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 3 to 4 to examine the effect of ENTF therapy in promoting recovery and reducing disability. Freedom from disability (mRS 0 to 1) at day 90 was examined as the primary outcome.
A total of 124 patients were included in the analyses: 65 received active ENTF therapy and 59 received sham ENTF therapy. The researchers found that freedom from disability at 90 days was higher with active than sham ENTF therapy (33.8 versus 11.9 percent). Across three disability strata (mRS 0 to 1, 2, and >2), ordinal shift favored active ENTF therapy. Single-domain motor and cognitive end points numerically favored active ENTF therapy, but the differences were not significant. There were no device- or procedure-related serious adverse events observed in safety analyses.
“Stimulating these networks with electromagnetic pulse patterns derived from studies in people who have not had a stroke can model and facilitate the reestablishment of normal network organization,” Saver said in a statement. “This therapy has shown beneficial effects upon organized brain electrical activity and, most importantly, was associated with improved functional recovery for patients after stroke.”
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries.
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