Vagus Nerve?

[Cara Fusinato]

In reading this month Reader's Digest, there was an article about a new treatment . . . there is a thing called a vagus nerve that runs from your brain to your belly and it regulates the immune response of the body and can also help regulate the heart rate. They are looking into new drugs to help the vegus nerve tell the immune system to not over react in cases like Crohn's or arthritis or septis. They also indicated that meditation helps with this too. I am wondering if anyone has heard anything about it? I plan to do some research. Perhaps it would be better to be on some kind of calming medication like Paxil or Celexa (etc.) to keep the body in a more calmed state. . . in lieu of having specific drugs to regulate this vegus nerve communication . . . any thoughts?

 

[Nym]

Here's the rest of the story:

Direct Route From The Brain To The Immune System Discovered

Date:October 24, 2007
Source:North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
Summary: It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature. But that's not how it is at all. In fact, new scientific detective work shows that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body's inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases.





Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, will be giving the 2007 Stetten Lecture on Oct. 24, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. His talk -- Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway -- will highlight the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

With this new understanding of the vagus nerve's role in regulating inflammation, scientists believe that they can tap into the body's natural healing defenses and calm the sepsis storm before it wipes out its victims. Each year, 750,000 people in the United States develop severe sepsis, and 215,000 will die no matter how hard doctors fight to save them. Sepsis is triggered by the body's own overpowering immune response to a systemic infection, and hospitals are the battlegrounds for these potentially lethal conditions.

The vagus nerve is located in the brainstem and snakes down from the brain to the heart and on through to the abdomen. Dr. Tracey and others are now studying ways of altering the brain's response or targeting the immune system itself as a way to control diseases.

Dr. Tracey is a neurosurgeon who came into research through the back door of the operating room. More than two decades ago, he was treating a young girl whose body had been accidentally scorched by boiling water and she was fighting for her life to overcome sepsis. She didn't make it. Dr. Tracey headed into the laboratory to figure out why the body makes its own cells that can do fatal damage.

Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. And stimulating the vagus nerve sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory markers. "This was so surprising to us," said Dr. Tracey, who immediately saw the potential to use vagus stimulation as a way to shut off abnormal immune system responses. He calls this network "the inflammatory reflex."

Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain's acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response. Inflammation is key to many diseases - from autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's, where scientists have identified a strong inflammatory component.

Dr. Tracey has presented his work to the Dalai Lama, who has shown a great interest in the neurosciences and the mind-body connection. He has also written a book called "Fatal Sequence," about the double-edge sword of the immune system.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024083630.htm

 

[DEmberton]

This was the thing talked about in connection with an implant that could stimulate the nerve and regulate your immune system:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/can-the-nervous-system-be-hacked.html?_r=0

 

[Nym]

Thanks so much for the additional info, DEmberton. Fascinating stuff!

Once the implant was turned on, its preprogrammed charge — about one milliamp; a small LED consumes 10 times more electricity — zapped the vagus nerve in 60-second bursts, up to four times a day. Typically, a patient’s throat felt constricted and tingly for a moment. After a week or two, arthritic pain began to subside. Swollen joints shrank, and blood tests that checked for inflammatory markers usually showed striking declines.

Koopman told me about a 38-year-old trial patient named Mirela Mustacevic whose rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed when she was 22, and who had since tried nine different medications, including two she had to self-inject. Some of them helped but had nasty side effects, like nausea and skin rashes. Before getting the SetPoint implant in April 2013, she could barely grasp a pencil; now she’s riding her bicycle to the Dutch coast, a near-20-mile round trip from her home. Mustacevic told me: “After the implant, I started to do things I hadn’t done in years — like taking long walks or just putting clothes on in the morning without help. I was ecstatic. When they told me about the surgery, I was a bit worried, because what if something went wrong? I had to think about whether it was worth it. But it was worth it. I got my life back.”

 

[Fernando1]

I've had a very bad Vagus Nerve experience.

I was painfully bloated like a frog in the hospital and I was starting to pass out gradually, I told the head nurse who knew exactly what was happening to me: My intestines were pressing against the Vagus Nerve which was causing the unconsciousness that I eventually fell into. I will never mess with the Vagus Nerve again !

 

[bunnygirl]

Fernando1 - I also have vagus nerve problems. Scar tissue has involved vagus. It is considered inoperable (too dangerous). What did they do for you? My last double balloon had to be stopped because my blood pressure and heart rate dropped when they tried to push through the affected area. Anyone else with info?:sign0085:

P.S. hope you are doing better (2 years later..)

 

[SaxLady]

Cara, I have Vagus nerve issues too. Once while driving I was burping really bad, and my esophagus spasmed, and then I blacked out for a couple seconds! Thank God I was stopped at a light! Had the car in park because I felt something come on. Anyway, was checked out at the hospital, and my heart was fine. I asked the Dr if an esophageal spasm could have caused it and he said yes, the Vagus nerve could have over responded, dropped my blood pressure really fast and basically made me faint. I am very attentive now to intentionally relax if I get one of those spasms, and breathe deeply and slowly. It is interesting the article you read said meditation can help too, because I started meditating about 6 months ago and it seems to be helping!

 

[fernando3]

All my vagus nerve issues come from severe distention caused by a stricture that partially blocks and eventually blocks when I eat the forbidden foods (Steaks, which I avoid even though I love them). The belly cramps like a rock and bloats 3-4 inches beyond normal. Then I start getting pressure on my throat so I will eventually throw up which relieves most of it.

While the bloating is going on I start feeling sleepier and sleepier because of the pressed Vagus nerve. I take Bentyl to relieve some of the cramps and the Vagus nerve is less pressed, but what really fixes it is when I throw up.