OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of vagus nerve stimulation in a consecutive series of adults and children with treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE). METHODS In this retrospective review of a prospectively created database of 436 consecutive patients who underwent vagus nerve stimulator implantation for TRE between November 1997 and April 2008, there were 2...

BACKGROUND Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve suppresses intestinal inflammation and normalizes gut motility in a mouse model of postoperative ileus. The exact anatomical interaction between the vagus nerve and the intestinal immune system remains however a matter of debate. In the present study, we provide additional evidence on the direct and indirect vagal innervation of the spleen an...

Background Benefits of cervical non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) devices have been shown in episodic cluster headache and preliminarily suggested in migraine, but direct evidence of vagus nerve activation using such devices is lacking. Vagal somatosensory evoked potentials (vSEPs) associated with vagal afferent activation have been reported for invasive vagus nerve stimulation (iVNS)...

There is reason to believe that the vagus nerve carries sensory afferent messages from the intracranial cavity as it does from the other body cavities. Considering the arachnoid granulations as a secretory apparatus instead of an organ transporting cerebrospinal fluid, a simple model can be built. Assuming that the arachnoid granulations produce nitric oxide in accordance with changes in the in...

BACKGROUND The nervous system, through the vagus nerve, can down-regulate inflammation in vivo by decreasing the release of tumor necrosis factor- alpha by endotoxin-stimulated macrophages. This anti-inflammatory effect is mediated by an interaction between acetylcholine, the principal neurotransmitter of the vagus nerve, and cholinergic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on macrophages. METHO...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a heterogeneous, prevalent, chronic autoimmune disease characterized by painful swollen joints and significant disabilities. Symptomatic relief can be achieved in up to 50% of patients using biological agents that inhibit tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or other mechanisms of action, but there are no universally effective therapies. Recent advances in basic and preclini...