Study shows vagus nerve stimulation significantly reduces rheumatoid arthritis symptoms

[Kyla]

http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/c...on-significantly-reduces-rheumatoid-arthritis

Excerpt:

Study shows vagus nerve stimulation significantly reduces rheumatoid arthritis symptoms
July 4, 2016 | by Editor

Clinical trial data published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) demonstrates stimulating the vagus nerve with an implantable bioelectronic device significantly improved measures of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects 1.3 million people in the United States and costs tens of billions of dollars annually to treat. The findings were announced by the Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and SetPoint Medical.

The publication highlights a human study designed to reduce symptoms of RA, cytokine levels and inflammation by stimulating the vagus nerve with a small implanted device.

"This is the first study to evaluate whether stimulating the inflammatory reflex directly with an implanted electronic device can treat RA in humans," said Professor Paul-Peter Tak, MD, PhD, FMedSci, the international principal investigator and lead author of the paper at the Division of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology of the Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam. "We have previously shown that targeting the inflammatory reflex may reduce inflammation in animal models and in vitro models of RA. The direct correlation between vagus nerve stimulation and the suppression of several key cytokines like TNF as well as reduced RA signs and symptoms demonstrates proof of mechanism, which might be relevant for other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases as well." ...

 

[Mary]

@Kyla - thanks for posting! I've seen other things about the vagus nerve and RA and am very glad to see this study. My sister has RA and is being administered toxic drugs which keep her functioning, but long-run they are bad news.