Scientists discover how to hack the vagus nerve to fight autoimmune diseases

The vagus nerve is a busy bundle of over 100,000 information-carrying fibers that runs from the brain stem through the body to connect the brain with major organs including the heart, lungs, and digestive system.

Scientists have discovered they can hack this neural network to calm an overactive immune system, potentially helping millions who suffer from conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease.

The discovery happened by chance. When researchers at the Feinstein Institutes gave rats a brain inflammation drug, something unexpected happened — inflammation dropped throughout their entire bodies. In a study of 242 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, this little shocker actually worked. After 12 weeks, patients had fewer symptoms and their joints weren't falling apart as quickly. Plus, inflammation proteins took a nosedive.

From NPR:

Currently, autoimmune diseases are usually treated with drugs that suppress the immune system. Some of these drugs are given by infusion, and can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year. They also increase a person's risk of infections.

Vagus nerve stimulation might offer a way to augment or replace drug treatment, doctors say.

"Neural signals have the ability to reflexively control aspects of the immune system that frankly, nobody had thought about before," says Dr. Kevin Tracey, president of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health on Long Island.

Tracey co-founded SetPoint Medical, a company that hopes to market a vagus nerve stimulation system for autoimmune diseases.

It's still not clear whether vagus nerve stimulation will be as effective as drug treatment, says Dr. Andrew Ko, a neurosurgeon at the University of Washington in Seattle who implanted SetPoint stimulators in patients with rheumatoid arthritis as part of a study.

The FDA is currently reviewing this inflammation off-switch and should decide by the end of 2025 whether we can all get one.

Previously:
Why humming is good for your mental health
The 'psychobiome' is bacteria in your gut that affects how you think and act
US Air Force tests handheld nerve-stimulating device to zap tired soldiers into alertness