05-08-2019
Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) focuses, among other things, on blocking the action of certain substances that are associated with autoimmune reactions, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF), among others. However, it turns out that it is not only the use of drugs, but also completely different treatment methods that can reduce the levels of these molecules in patients' bodies - at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatologymeeting , itwas mentioned what role vagus nerve stimulation can play in the treatment of RA.
In past studies, it has been observed that the v agus nerve has the ability to reduce the amount of cytokines and other yet pro-inflammatory substances produced in the body. Drugs that are used in RA patients have a similar effect - their aim is also to reduce inflammatory-promoting substances. For this reason, it was decided to test whether enhancing the anti-inflammatory response initiated by the vagus nerve - through its electrostimulation - could work in a similar way to the drugs taken by patients.
During the study, a small vagus nerve stimulator was implanted in 14 RA patients - who had not been treated with two different drugs to resolve their symptoms. Subsequently, the patients were divided into three groups: one group was a control group, the second group received daily electrical stimulation and the patients in the third group had their vagus nerve stimulated four times a day.
The duration of the study was 12 weeks. Ultimately, it was found that the subjects who underwent vagus nerve electrostimulation had a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines of more than 30%.
Electrosimulation of the vagus nerve - for reasons of cost, to say the least - is unlikely to become a routine treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. However, if, in the future, more extensive studies prove its effectiveness, it may then become a suitable therapeutic option for those patients with RA in whom typical treatment fails to achieve satisfactory results.
