Bioelectronic Medicine
Bioelectronic medicine is about the practice of using precise electrical pulses to treat the underlying pathophysiology of chronic diseases.
Bioelectronic medicine is an alternative approach to treating diseases and injuries using electrical pulses instead of drugs. All major organs of the body are innervated, allowing the brain to both monitor and regulate organ function. Bioelectronic medicine uses device technology to read and modulate physiological activity by leveraging electrical activity within the nervous system, opening new doors to real-time diagnostics and treatment options for patients. Nerve-stimulating devices have the potential to modulate specific nerve activity, elicit a specific change in function of the organ that the nerve innervates, and restore health, without the complicated side effects of pharmaceutical agents. Current treatment methods focus on utilizing small devices to generate and deliver periodic digital doses to nerve bundles to create a disease-fighting effect that can last for hours or days based on mechanisms similar to drug therapies. Such devices are already in clinical trials to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease.[1]
History
A number of key scientific discoveries, medical advances and technological developments played a crucial foundational role in the evolution of bioelectronic medicine. The use of electrical signals to influence the human body dates back to ancient times, with the first known written document on the therapeutic application in AD 46, when Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, mentioned the use of the electrical discharge from the electric ray in his work, Compositiones Medicae, to treat gout and headache.[2] Since the advent of man-made electricity, electrical impulses have been developed for use in therapeutic applications. In the late 1800s, John Alexander MacWilliam published writings in the British Medical Journal on his experiments with electrical impulses and the human heart, through the development of the modern-day pacemaker and defibrillator.[citation needed] Since the 1950s, there have been many improvements to medical devices, including the advancement to wearable transistorized models and implantable technology, new lead and leadless technologies, smaller device sizes, longer battery lives, and MRI compatibility, to name a few.
There is controversy over bioelectronic medicine’s relationship to neuromodulation. Opponents of confounding the two assert that the difference lies in the biological impact – harnessing the body’s own mechanisms versus mediating or masking the symptoms.[3]
The Inflammatory Reflex/Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is the longest of 12 pairs of cranial nerves that sends information from many parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, or other abdominal organs back to the brain when it detects a problem. The brain is also responsible for transmitting information through the vagus nerve back down to the organs and controlling inflammation. Using small stimulators planted on the vagus nerve, the devices can send electrical signals to restore and reset immune-mediated inflammatory activity.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ "What is bioelectronic medicine?". Feinstein Institute.
- ↑ Tsoucalas, G; Karamanou, M; Lymperi, M; Gennimata, V; Androutsos, G (2014). "The "torpedo" effect in medicine". International Maritime Health. 65 (2): 65–67. doi:10.5603/IMH.2014.0015. PMID 25231328.
- ↑ (PDF) https://setpointmedical.com/sp-content/uploads/2018/09/Setpoint_Medical_White_Paper_digital.pdf. Missing or empty
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