A Stimulating Concept: Bioelectronic Medicine in Inflammatory Disease

Abstract

Recent discoveries in neuroscience and immunology have revealed that stimulation of specific neural circuits can ameliorate certain experimental inflammatory diseases. Accumulating evidence on a prototypical reflex circuit that includes the vagus nerve, termed the “inflammatory reflex,” has spawned clinical trials using implanted vagus nerve stimulators to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. Modulation of neural reflex activity potentially represents a groundbreaking advance in treatment options for chronic inflammation, but our understanding of the involved components and signals is still incomplete. Here, the experimental basis for use of bioelectronic medicine in treatment of inflammatory disease and future challenges in this rapidly evolving field are reviewed and discussed.