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Animal studies have indicated that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) ― an established therapy for epilepsy ― diminishes proinflammatory cytokine production. Researchers tested the hypothesis that lower cytokine production also benefits patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
European investigators first confirmed that VNS greatly reduced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β in 7 epilepsy patients with newly implanted VNS devices. Then, they implanted VNS devices in two cohorts of patients with RA: Cohort 1 was 7 patients with active disease, despite methotrexate therapy and no past treatment with biologics; cohort 2 was 10 patients with severe RA who had not responded to methotrexate plus biologics.
VNS device…