From Basic Research to Bioelectronic Medicine

Kevin J. Tracey of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the research branch of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, helped launch a new discipline called bioelectronic medicine. Credit: North Shore-LIJ Studios. By showing that our immune and nervous systems are connected, Kevin J. Tracey of the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research helped launch a new discipline called bioelectronic medicine. In this field, scientists explore how to use electricity to stimulate the body to produce its own disease-fighting molecules. I spoke with Tracey about his research, the scientific process and where bioelectronic medicine is headed next. How did you uncover the connection between our immune and nervous systems? My lab was testing whether a chemical we developed called CNI-1493 could stop immune cells from producing inflammation-inducing molecules called TNFs in the brain of rats during a stroke. It does. But we were surprised to find that this chemical also affects neurons, or brain cells. The neurons sense the chemical and respond by sending an electrical signal along the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the internal organs. The vagus nerve then releases molecules that tell immune cells throughout the body to make less TNF. I’ve named this neural circuit the inflammatory reflex. Today, scientists in bioelectronic medicine are exploring ways to use tiny electrical devices to stimulate this reflex to treat diseases ranging from rhe...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Pharmacology Cellular Processes Clinical Trial Inflammation Source Type: blogs