BACKGROUND We hypothesize that left-sided low-level vagus nerve stimulation (LL-VNS) can suppress sympathetic outflow and reduce atrial tachyarrhythmias in ambulatory dogs. METHODS AND RESULTS We implanted a neurostimulator in 12 dogs to stimulate the left cervical vagus nerve and a radiotransmitter for continuous recording of left stellate ganglion nerve activity, vagal nerve activities, and...

The particular importance of the vagus nerve for the pathophysiology of peritonitis becomes more and more apparent. In this work we provide evidence for the vagal modulation of inflammation in the murine model of colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP). Vagotomy significantly increases mortality in polymicrobial sepsis. This effect is not accounted for by the dilatation of gastric volume follo...

Of the 3 million patients with seizures in North America approximately 70% have effective seizure control with medications. In the group refractory to medical treatment only a minority fit the criteria for surgical therapy. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy seems to be a suitable nonpharmacologic therapy for reducing seizure frequency in these cases. It is a simple device with 2 electrodes and an...

The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB(1)R) is required for body weight homeostasis and normal gastrointestinal motility. However, the specific cell types expressing CB(1)R that regulate these physiological functions are unknown. CB(1)R is widely expressed, including in neurons of the parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. The vagus nerve has been implicated in the regulation of seve...

RATIONALE Neurogenic shock is generally typified by spinal injury due to bone metastases in cancer patients, but continuous disturbance of the vagus nerve controlling the aortic arch baroreceptor can cause shock by a reflex response through the medulla oblongata. PATIENT CONCERNS A 43-year-old woman with dysphagia presented to our hospital. Computed tomography showed a primary tumor adjacent ...

BACKGROUND It has recently been reported that a signal latency shorter than 3.5 ms after electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve signify a nonrecurrent course of the inferior laryngeal nerve. We present a patient with an ascending nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve. In this patient, the stimulation latency was longer than 3.5 ms. CASE PRESENTATION A 74-years old female underwent redo sur...

Brain injury and its related increased intracranial pressure (ICP) may lead to increased vagus nerve activity and the subsequent suppression of innate immunity via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. This may explain the observed increased susceptibility to infection in these patients. In the present study, we investigated the association between brain injury, vagus nerve activity, and i...

BACKGROUND Although cervical vagus nerve stimulation is effective for reducing infarct volume in rats, it is not feasible for acute human stroke as it requires surgical incision of the neck. We hypothesized that stimulation of the dermatome in the external ear innervated by the vagus nerve (auricular vagus nerve stimulation; aVNS) reduces infarct volume after transient focal ischemia in rats. ...

INTRODUCTION Many studies have demonstrated the existence of an anti-inflammatory, parasympathetic pathway, termed as the inflammatory reflex. Burn-induced heart failure has been investigated in many previous studies. Proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6, have been shown to play a key pathogenetic role and vagus nerve stimulation attenuates proinflammatory cytokine p...

Background: We describe a case of epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in the vagus nerve schwannoma of a 58 y old man. Case presentation: Angiosarcoma rarely arises in a schwannoma, and epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in a vagus nerve schwannoma is exceedingly rare. We reported such a case in a 58 y old man who did not have neurofibromatosis. A mass on the right neck along the vagus nerve was not...