Nerve Stimulation: Immunomodulation and Control of Inflammation

Neuronal stimulation is an emerging field in modern medicine to control organ function and re-establish physiological homeostasis during illness. Transdermal nerve stimulation with electroacupuncture is currently endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is used by millions of people to control pain and inflammation. Recent advances in electroacupuncture may permit activation of specific neuronal networks to prevent organ damage in inflammatory and infectious disorders. Experimental studies of nerve stimulation are also providing new information on the functional organization of the nervous system to control inflammation and its clinical implications in infectious and inflammatory disorders. These studies may allow the design of novel non-invasive techniques for nerve stimulation to help to control immune and organ functions. Neuronal stimulation for physiological control is a recent field with major clinical implications for inflammation, infectious diseases, colitis, diabetes, obesity, hemorrhage, pancreatitis, quadriplegia, resuscitation, endotoxemia, septic shock, and sepsis. Transdermal nerve stimulation with acupuncture or electroacupuncture is currently endorsed by the WHO and the NIH, and is used by millions of people to control pain, inflammation, and organ function. Transdermal nerve stimulation with acupuncture or electroacupuncture can activate neuronal networks via local immune factors and neuronal opioid receptors. Neuronal sympathetic stimulation can induce local release of neurogenic norepinephrine, which may provide clinical advantages by inducing local control of inflammation, thereby avoiding collateral effects in non-targeted tissues. Neuromodulation studies of the immune system are suggesting new models of the functional organization of the nervous system in controlling inflammation, and may have important clinical implications in specific cohorts of patients.