'Fifth Symphony' by Beethoven destroys cancer cells

From Study of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
A 'Fifth Symphony' by Beethoven is one of the most famous compositions of classical music and, according to a new Brazilian study, may help cure cancer.The survey, conducted by the Program Oncobiology Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, analyzed MCF-7 cells, which are linked to breast cancer. By exposing these cells to the famous theme, one in five eventually died, which enthusiastically involved.
The study, which began in May 2010, is to allow them to develop new prospects for cure of malignant tumors, using tones and frequencies, explains the newspaper 'O Globo'.
Already on the official unit Oncobiology univesidade of that, the charge of the study, Marcia Capella, states that have already used other musical compositions, Masner always with the same results.
"We began our work using three compositions: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major" by Mozart [known to cause the 'Mozart effect', a temporary increase in spatial-temporal reasoning of an individual], the 'Fifth Symphony' Beethoven and 'Atmosphères' [the Hungarian György Ligeti], a contemporary composition, which is characterized mainly by the absence of a melodic line that reflects the theme, "he says.
According to expert, the composition of Mozart, caused no change in cells, but the Beethoven and Ligeti have killed an average of 20% of them, besides the "decrease in size and granularity."
The fact that Mozart did not provoke any reaction is to scare those responsible, since his compositions are among the most widely used in music therapy.
"We still need better study the mechanisms of these effects, ie: because only some cell types are sensitive to these songs? And why only some specific types of music cause effects? We tested also with MDCK, a cell non-tumorigenic, and lymphocytes, and they never responded to these sound stimuli, "admits Marcia Capella.
The aim is to use sound frequencies as the healing process instead of other more violent as radiotherapy.

Beethoven's 5th Symphony

The strategy, which seems strange at first, seeks to find ways more efficient and less toxic cancer-fighting: Instead of radiotherapy, one day you could imagine the use of frequencies. The study was innovative in using music therapy beyond the treatment of emotional disturbances.
- This therapy is usually adopted in diseases linked to psychological problems, situations involving an emotional component. We show that, in addition, the music produces a direct effect on the cells of our body - underscores Capella Márcia, Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, coordinator of the study.Because MCF-7 is doubling every 30 hours, Marcia waited two days between the music session and test their effects. In this period, 20% of the sample died. Among the surviving cells, many lost their size and granularity.

The search result is puzzling even to Marcia. The composition of "Atmospheres", the Hungarian György Ligeti caused effects similar to those registered with Beethoven. But the "Sonata for two pianos in D Major" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most popular music therapy had no effect.
- It was strange, because this sonata causes something known as the "Mozart effect", a temporary increase in spatial-temporal reasoning - considering the researcher. - But we were happy with the result. We believed that the symphony would cause metabolic changes only, not the death of cancer cells.
"Atmospheres", unlike the "Fifth Symphony" is a contemporary composition, characterized by the absence of a melodic line. Why, then, two different tracks that have caused the same effect?
Coupled with a team that includes a professor at the School of Music Villa-Lobos, Marcia, now seeks to answer this by dividing the music into parts. It may be that the effect has not been the whole work, but specifically of a rhythm, a tone or intensity.
In April, exposure to samba and funk
When you can identify what killed the cells, the next step will be to build a particular sound sequence for the treatment of tumors. The path to this tune will go through other genres. Starting next month, researchers will test the effect of samba and funk on tumor cells.
- We do not know music composer and what we use. The amount of sound combinations that we can study is immense - the researcher says.
Another avenue of research is to investigate whether the symphonies caused another type of effect in the body. For now, only renal cell tumor were exposed to music. Only in the second group was registered a change.
The survey also provided a strange conclusion to cell cultures. As it was proved that the effect of music goes beyond the emotional component, there may be a difference between listening to it with surround sound or headphone.
- Partial results suggest that with the headset, we are benefiting from the emotional effects and neglecting the direct consequences, such as those observed with the experiment - Marcia reveals.