Hi
@Janet Dafoe (Rose49),
Yesterday, I ran across what I thought was a remarkable article that has similarities to the article linked in this thread. Perhaps Ron might be interested in it, as it refers to not only stopping inflammation, but "resetting the immune system" as well (which stops the inflammation).
It's quite a long article, but one area they highlighted was how some rheumatoid arthritis patients were completely recovering simply from having a vagus nerve stimulation device implanted in their bodies, and turning it on for 30 seconds 6 times a day. IIRC, they say toward the end they believe it has applications/implications for pw/CFS.
There's a Single Nerve That Connects All of Your Vital Organs — And It Might Just Be the Future of Medicine
Here's a 4-paragraph snippet from the article, with the last one being the most important (right after Cort's quote):
"Operating far below the level of our conscious minds, the vagus nerve is vital for keeping our bodies healthy. It is an essential part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for calming organs after the stressed 'fight-or-flight' adrenaline response to danger. Not all vagus nerves are the same, however: some people have stronger vagus activity, which means their bodies can relax faster after a stress.
The strength of your vagus response is known as your vagal tone and it can be determined by using an electrocardiogram to measure heart rate. Every time you breathe in, your heart beats faster in order to speed the flow of oxygenated blood around your body. Breathe out and your heart rate slows.
... so the bigger your difference in heart rate when breathing in and out, the higher your vagal tone. Research shows that a high vagal tone makes your body better at regulating blood glucose levels, reducing the likelihood of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Low vagal tone, however, has been associated with chronic inflammation.
There must be a switch somewhere! Could this be it or one of them? I'll bet there are multiple switches in the immune system
As part of the immune system, inflammation has a useful role helping the body to heal after an injury, for example, but it can damage organs and blood vessels if it persists when it is not needed.
One of the vagus nerve's jobs is to reset the immune system and switch off production of proteins that fuel inflammation. Low vagal tone means this regulation is less effective and inflammation can become excessive"