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Transcutaneous cervical vagal nerve stimulation modulates cardiac vagal tone and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha
Author(s) -
Brock C.,
Brock B.,
Aziz Q.,
Møller H. J.,
Pfeiffer Jensen M.,
Drewes A. M.,
Farmer A. D.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
neurogastroenterology and motility
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.489
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1365-2982
pISSN - 1350-1925
DOI - 10.1111/nmo.12999
Subject(s) - vagus nerve , vagus nerve stimulation , medicine , vagal tone , cholinergic , heart rate , tumor necrosis factor alpha , stimulation , blood pressure , autonomic nervous system , autonomic nerve , anesthesia , endocrinology
The vagus nerve is a central component of cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathways. We sought to evaluate the effect of bilateral transcutaneous cervical vagal nerve stimulation (t‐ VNS ) on validated parameters of autonomic tone and cytokines in 20 healthy subjects. 24 hours after t‐ VNS , there was an increase in cardiac vagal tone and a reduction in tumor necrosis factor‐α in comparison to baseline. No change was seen in blood pressure, cardiac sympathetic index or other cytokines. These preliminary data suggest that t‐ VNS exerts an autonomic and a subtle antitumor necrosis factor‐α effect, which warrants further evaluation in larger controlled studies.