WSH "Direct Route From The Brain To The Immune System Discovered"

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Susanita

Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:12 AM

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2007) — It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature. But that's not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body's inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases. Understanding the intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases triggered by a dangerous inflammatory response.

Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, will be giving the 2007 Stetten Lecture on Oct. 24, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. His talk -- Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway -- will highlight the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

With this new understanding of the vagus nerve's role in regulating inflammation, scientists believe that they can tap into the body's natural healing defenses and calm the sepsis storm before it wipes out its victims. Each year, 750,000 people in the United States develop severe sepsis, and 215,000 will die no matter how hard doctors fight to save them. Sepsis is triggered by the body's own overpowering immune response to a systemic infection, and hospitals are the battlegrounds for these potentially lethal conditions.

The vagus nerve is located in the brainstem and snakes down from the brain to the heart and on through to the abdomen. Dr. Tracey and others are now studying ways of altering the brain's response or targeting the immune system itself as a way to control diseases.

Dr. Tracey is a neurosurgeon who came into research through the back door of the operating room. More than two decades ago, he was treating a young girl whose body had been accidentally scorched by boiling water and she was fighting for her life to overcome sepsis. She didn't make it. Dr. Tracey headed into the laboratory to figure out why the body makes its own cells that can do fatal damage.

Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. And stimulating the vagus nerve sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory markers. "This was so surprising to us," said Dr. Tracey, who immediately saw the potential to use vagus stimulation as a way to shut off abnormal immune system responses. He calls this network "the inflammatory reflex."

Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain's acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response. Inflammation is key to many diseases - from autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's, where scientists have identified a strong inflammatory component.

Dr. Tracey has presented his work to the Dalai Lama, who has shown a great interest in the neurosciences and the mind-body connection. He has also written a book called "Fatal Sequence," about the double-edge sword of the immune system.

Adapted from materials provided by North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

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Susanita

Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007 5:53 PM

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ttt

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Stonewoman

Posted Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:52 PM

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thanks Sus

very exciting to hear about this research
dee

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Susanita

Posted Friday, October 26, 2007 7:08 AM

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You are welcome, turtletime24!! :-)

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Wanda1

Posted Friday, October 26, 2007 3:51 PM

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What does WSH stand for?

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Hulagirl

Posted Friday, October 26, 2007 4:11 PM

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Very interesting! Yeah, what is WSH? Okay, this brings to mind the yoga/mind over body connection. When I was diagnosed, my R factor was quite high yet I had very little symptoms. My rheumy attributes this to my daily yoga. She believes that yoga, when practiced properly, does help stop the progression of diseases in general. What do you all think?

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Susanita

Posted Friday, October 26, 2007 5:08 PM

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WSH: Warning Scary Heading
Since I has been accused to post SCARING HEADING, and I am not going to stop posting, I decided to place this warning in front of my posts, so that those who are easily scare can avoid reading my posts, and so have a peaceful night without scary stuff around their dreams.

Hulagirl: I do not know about Yoga, but there are several studies about the efficacy of Tai Chi.

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Pip

Posted Monday, October 29, 2007 9:55 AM

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Corect me if I'm wrong, but acetylcholine is a brain chemical used in reuptake, correct?

I need to think about this. If this is true, that might be why SSRI's can help with Fibro pain etc.

But messing with brain chemisty is something that can go horribly wrong. Look at the lawsuits for SSRI warning labels and the reactions people had coming off.

Food for thought.

Pip

Antibiotic Protocol - Minocin, Zithromax, Naproxen (occasionally), 1 mg. Folic Acid.

Supps are Milk Thistle, Black Cohosh, Bromelain, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, NAC, B12, Hawthorne, CoQ10, MSM, Tumeric, and weaning Melatonin! PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS!!!

Occassionally Nystatin, Diflucan, GSE, Oil of Oregano still sitting on the counter!

Feel free to PM me about the Antibiotic Protocol~

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates

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Susanita

Posted Monday, October 29, 2007 11:49 AM

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Interesting comment Pip. I do not have info about the use of SSRIs in fibro. I do agree with you about the risk of messing with body´s chemistry. I will go even further, because I think that messing with the immune system can also alter brain chemistry, as well as messing with the hormones. They are all interconected systems. I think we are just starting to learn the connection between the three systems.

I found this old work about SSRIs in arthritis. Does it make sense to you?

Br J Rheumatol. 1998 Oct;37(10):1077-83.

Alteration of central serotonin modifies onset and severity of adjuvant-induced
arthritis in the rat.

Harbuz MS, Marti O, Lightman SL, Jessop DS.

Department of Hospital Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have determined that depletion of serotonin reduces
the severity of hind-paw inflammation in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) in the
rat. We wished to (i) test the hypothesis that this effect may be mediated, at
least in part, through a central mechanism and (ii) to investigate further the
pro-inflammatory role of serotonin we determined whether increasing serotonin
using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), to increase serotonin
availability at the active site of release, would increase inflammation. METHODS:
(i) Serotonin was depleted in the brain of rats with the selective neurotoxin
5'7'-dihydroxytryptamine. (ii) Rats were treated with an SSRI on days 10, 11 and
12 following adjuvant injection. Hind-paw inflammation was determined with
plethysmometry as an index of severity of inflammation, and brain, pituitaries
and blood were collected for assessment of changes in the hypothalamo -pituitary
adrenal (HPA) axis. RESULTS: (i) Serotonin depletion significantly reduced
hind-paw inflammation. (ii) SSRI-treated animals developed hind-paw inflammation
sooner, and the severity was increased compared to vehicle-treated AA rats. The
changes in the HPA axis associated with inflammation were partly reversed by this
treatment. CONCLUSION: These data suggest a pro-inflammatory role for central
serotonin in this disease model and indicate that treatment with SSRIs may
exacerbate the development of inflammation.

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valentineMI

Posted Monday, October 29, 2007 5:48 PM

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I found this post fascinating. Thanks.

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Susanita

Posted Monday, October 29, 2007 6:53 PM

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I am glad that you find it interesting. I think is amazing how old medicine paradigms are changed everyday. Susana.

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Pip

Posted Monday, November 05, 2007 5:22 PM

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OMG, Susanita - it's the opposite of what I was thinking! I was thinking that the use of SSRI to mitigate the effects of Fibro etc. could be a good thing if we were 'lite' on Seratonin - but according to this - serotonin could conceivably be why we then experience MORE pain. Like starting a never ending cycle of pain.

Do you see what I'm saying?

Pip
P.S. And interestingly - certain food help build seratonin in the brain. Like pasta and chocolate. Both things linked to 'leaky gut' and inflammation (gluten, sugar).

Antibiotic Protocol - Minocin, Zithromax, Naproxen (occasionally), 1 mg. Folic Acid.

Supps are Milk Thistle, Black Cohosh, Bromelain, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, NAC, B12, Hawthorne, CoQ10, MSM, Tumeric, and weaning Melatonin! PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS, PROBIOTICS!!!

Occassionally Nystatin, Diflucan, GSE, Oil of Oregano still sitting on the counter!

Feel free to PM me about the Antibiotic Protocol~

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. Hippocrates

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Susanita

Posted Tuesday, November 06, 2007 5:56 PM

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That is absolutely right Pip. Is the first time that I heard about such a correlation between serotonin and inflammation. It could also have a lot of importance for the study of sleep disorders and pain, such as in Fibro.
Is good to have someone to see the importance of this works for us. Thanks. S.

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