PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Single low-magnitude electric pulse successfully fights inflammation

Ongoing research shows growing promise of bioelectronic medicine

2015-05-13
(Press-News.org) MANHASSET, NY -- The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the research arm of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and SetPoint Medical Inc., a biomedical technology company, today released the results of research on the therapeutic potential of vagus nerve stimulation. In a paper published by Bioelectronic Medicine, Kevin J. Tracey, MD, and his colleagues at the Feinstein Institute, explore how low-level electrical stimulation interacts with the body's nerves to reduce inflammation, a fundamental goal of bioelectronic medicine.

Prior to this study, it was not understood which vagus nerve fiber types were responsible for reducing the body's inflammatory activity. The paper's findings indicate that activation of either motor or sensory vagus nerve bundles can diminish inflammation.

"Identifying the exact role of the different nerve bundles in the inflammatory reflex bolsters our understanding of the relationship between the central nervous system and the vagus nerve," said Dr. Kevin J. Tracey, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute. "Furthermore, we now know that stimulating the vagus nerve for as little as half a millisecond is enough to inhibit tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production."

After establishing the neural bundles activated in vagus nerve stimulation, the researchers found that only low-intensity, short-duration, electric pulses were needed to reduce the production of inflammation-inducing cytokines. Repetition of the pulses did not increase the success of the treatment in this experiment indicating that a single stimulating pulse is potentially sufficient.

"Seeing successful results with low-level electrical current is a significant finding," said Yaakov Levine, PhD, senior research scientist, SetPoint Medical. "This indicates the potential for limited side effects, as well as promise for device miniaturization, both of which will be important to bringing vagus nerve stimulation into the mainstream."

INFORMATION:

The findings of the paper represent another step forward for the field of bioelectronic medicine, a convergence of molecular medicine, bioengineering, and neuroscience. The emerging field aims to provide an alternative for treating a variety of diseases. SetPoint Medical has recently concluded a clinical trial using vagus nerve stimulation to treat rheumatoid arthritis and is currently exploring a similar treatment for Crohn's disease. To read the paper in its entirety, visit bioelecmed.org.

About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is home to international scientific leaders in many areas including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, human genetics, pulmonary hypertension, leukemia, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. The Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, ranks in the top 6th percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to research centers. For more information, visit http://www.FeinsteinInstitute.org.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Revolutionary discovery could help tackle skin and heart conditions

Revolutionary discovery could help  tackle skin and heart conditions
2015-05-13
Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important discovery about how certain cells stick to each other to form tissue. The team from the Faculty of Life Sciences studied how cells in the skin and heart are bound together through structures called desmosomes. They wanted to understand how these junctions between the cells in the tissue are so strong. Desmosomes are specialised for strong adhesion. They bind the tissue cells together to resist the rigours of everyday life and their failure can result in diseases of the skin and heart, including sudden ...

Performance degradation mechanism of a helicon plasma thruster

Performance degradation mechanism of a helicon plasma thruster
2015-05-13
A part of the performance degradation mechanism of the advanced, electrodeless, helicon plasma thruster with a magnetic nozzle, has been revealed by the research group of Dr. Kazunori Takahashi and Prof. Akira Ando at Tohoku University's Department of Electrical Engineering. An electric propulsion device is a main engine, and a key piece of technology for space development and exploration. Charged particles are produced by electric discharge and accelerated, i.e. momentum is transferred to them via electromagnetic fields. The thrust force is equivalent to the momentum ...

Blind signatures using offline repositories

2015-05-13
Digital signatures are mechanisms for authenticating the validity or authorship of a certain digital message and they aim to be digital counterparts to real (or analog) signatures. The concept was introduced by Diffie and Hellman in 1976. Notice that, when certified, digital signatures have the same legal power as traditional signatures. With the advent of quantum computation new threats to security became a near future reality and all known digital signatures schemes are vulnerable, compromising fundamental properties of signature schemes: authenticity and authorship ...

Nuclear modernization programs threaten to prolong the nuclear era

2015-05-13
Chicago (13 May, 2015)- In the latest issue of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, experts from the United States, Russia, and China present global perspectives on ambitious nuclear modernization programs that the world's nuclear-armed countries have begun. In the latest edition of the Bulletin's Global Forum, Georgetown University professor Matthew Kroenig argues that: "Failure to modernize would not contribute to disarmament - but more than that, it would be irresponsible. A crippled US nuclear force would embolden enemies, frighten allies, generate ...

Physicists observe attosecond real-time restructuring of electron cloud in molecule

Physicists observe attosecond real-time restructuring of electron cloud in molecule
2015-05-13
The recombination of electron shells in molecules, taking just a few dozen attoseconds (a billionth of a billionth of a second), can now be viewed "live," thanks to a new method developed by MIPT researchers and their colleagues from Denmark, Japan and Switzerland. An article detailing the results of their study has been published in the journal Nature Communications. In recent years, scientists have learned how to study ultrafast processes taking place at the atomic and molecular levels, and research in this field is expected to yield some very important results. In ...

Fusion protein controls design of photosynthesis platform

2015-05-13
This news release is available in German. Chloroplasts are the solar cells of plants and green algae. In a process called photosynthesis, light energy is used to produce biochemical energy and the oxygen we breathe. Thus, photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes on the planet. A central part of photosynthesis takes place in a specialized structure within chloroplasts, the thylakoid membrane system. Despite its apparent important function, until now it was not clear how this specialized internal membrane system is actually formed. In a collaborative ...

Scientists discover new molecules that kill cancer cells and protect healthy cells

2015-05-13
Amsterdam, May 13, 2015 - A new family of molecules that kill cancer cells and protect healthy cells could be used to treat a number of different cancers, including cervical, breast, ovarian and lung cancers. Research published in EBioMedicine shows that as well as targeting and killing cancer cells, the molecules generate a protective effect against toxic chemicals in healthy cells. Cells can become cancerous when their DNA is damaged. Many different things can cause DNA damage, including smoking, chemicals and radiation; understanding exactly what happens at the point ...

Where do the happiest children live?

2015-05-13
London/Zurich, May 13, 2015: Children in European countries tend to report higher levels of satisfaction with their friendships while children in African countries tend to be happier with their school lives. Children in northern European countries are particularly dissatisfied with their appearance and self-confidence. Most of the 50,000 children in the 15 countries rated their satisfaction with life as a whole (on a scale from zero to ten) positively, but the percentage of children with very high well-being (10 out of 10) varied from around 78% in Turkey and 77% in Romania ...

New test could identify resistant tuberculosis faster

2015-05-13
The time needed to genetically sequence the bacteria causing tuberculosis (Mtb) from patient samples has been reduced from weeks to days using a new technique developed by a UCL-led team. This could help health service providers to better treat disease, control transmission of this infection, and monitor outbreaks. Tuberculosis (TB) disease rates in some parts of London are as high as in Sub-Saharan Africa, and drug-resistant strains are becoming increasingly common. These require specific treatments, and if doctors know that a bug is resistant they can start therapy ...

A sobering thought: 1 billion smokers and 240 million people with alcohol use disorder, worldwide

2015-05-12
A new study published today in the journal Addiction has compiled the best, most up-to-date evidence on addictive disorders globally. It shows that almost 5% of the world's adult population (240 million people) have an alcohol use disorder and more than 20% (1 billion people) smoke tobacco. Getting good data on other drugs such as heroin and cannabis is much more difficult but for comparison the number of people injecting drugs is estimated at around 15 million worldwide. The "Global Statistics on Addictive Behaviours: 2014 Status Report" goes further in showing that ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

[Press-News.org] Single low-magnitude electric pulse successfully fights inflammation
Ongoing research shows growing promise of bioelectronic medicine