A Country Doctor Reads: Consider the Vagus Nerve, No Matter What Seems to be the Diagnosis | The Wall Street Journal
A Country Doctor Reads: Consider the Vagus Nerve, No Matter What Seems to be the Diagnosis | The Wall Street Journal
Published July 25, 2022
Progress Notes
It’s all about inflammation, from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis, colitis and psoriasis in between. And now we hear the brain controls inflammation via the vagus nerve.
A couple of years ago I wrote about how the vagus nerve regulates mood and emotions. Now The Wall Street Journal writes about how it controls our immune responses. I had a professor in medical school who used to say “if you know lupus, you know medicine”. Maybe at this point in time one might say “if you understand the vagus nerve, you understand medicine”.
According to an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal the other day, a decades old discovery that the brain regulates the immune system through the vagus nerve is promising possible new ways of treating what seems to be the root cause of many chronic diseases.
Electricity Is the New Medical Miracle
“Dr. Tracey’s breakthrough two decades ago was the discovery that the brain also controls the immune system through the vagus nerve. By using electrical stimulation to hack into neural networks, it’s possible to regulate the immune response and perhaps someday cure inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and even Alzheimer’s disease.”
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/electricity-is-the-new-medical-miracle-crohn-vagus-nerve-biotech-startup-trial-remission-treatment-11658512502