Researchers reveal “neural tourniquet” that stops bleeding by nerve stimulation
The vagus is stimulated by a device attached to the ear, which promotes blood clotting. This technology called transcutaneous neurostimulation has been used in a trial funded by Five Liters.
New research indicates that zapping the vagus nervous promotes blood clotting.
This is the first time that humans have been shown to be affected by a ” neural tourniquet ,” Or a brain-based path that can reduce bleeding. Dr. Jared Huston A trauma surgeon at Northwell Health’s Firestein Institutes for Medical Research in New York.
Huston, a Live Science reporter, said that if a clinical trial in the future shows the nerve stimulation reduces bleeding, it could be applied before surgery to prevent excessive blood loss.
An estimated 1.5% of all surgeries are performed. All surgeries are associated with some level of bleeding. Current surgical techniques rely heavily on bandages, sutures and tourniquets Devices that prevent blood flow to a part of the body to stop bleeding
Huston asked if preventing blood from escaping would improve the safety of surgery. “Preventing a problem is always better than dealing with it after the fact,” He said.
Huston, his colleagues and others first wondered about the Vagus Nerve’s potential to promote blood clotting in nearly 20 years. The nerve modulates inflammation . The vagus nerve The control of the is controlled by the. This stems from the brain, and spreads to the other organs. Parasympathetic Nervous System The rest and digest counterpart of the “fight-or-flight” Sympathetic nervous system .
The last year Huston’s Team showed The vagus stimulates the T-cells, a specific type of immunity cell in our bodies.
After reentering the circulation, primed platelets respond better to injuries-related signals. When mice are injected with a bacterial infection, the platelets become more responsive to injury-related cues. Hemophilia The team discovered that nerve stimulation can reduce bleeding in patients with a condition where blood cannot clot correctly.
Huston’s team worked with Dallas-based Biomedical Company to test whether this mechanism exists in humans. Five Liters to recruit healthy volunteers. The device was approved by the FDA. Zap the vagus branch auricular nerve The treatment runs for about 30 minutes behind each ear. Before and after treatment, blood samples were collected.
After vagus stimulation, blood markers for blood platelet activation were higher in the blood of volunteers.
The results of the animal studies are not representative. “very intriguing,” More research is needed to prove that vagus nerve stimulator can stop blood bleeding in humans. Peder Olofsson Live Science spoke to a bioelectronics professor at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute.
“Ultimately, measurements of bleeding times, bleeding volumes, and patient outcomes will be key” Olofsson said that the research showed the value of activating vagus through the skin. He was not involved with the study.
Huston agreed. “The next study will have to be in an actual clinical disease where the patients are bleeding one way or another,” He said.
Olofsson said that another issue was demonstrating the consistency of results from stimulators. “Non-invasive stimulators” The implanted stimulator is much faster and more convenient to use. “often show less consistent physiological effects.”
The Vagus Nerve Stimulation is widely used already in Epilepsy Huston said that the side effect risk is low. If the findings of Huston’s study can be reproduced in large trials and expanded, then surgeons may use vagus stimulation for a short period before planned surgery.
“We administer antibiotics, so you don’t get an infection during surgery. We administer pain medications pre-emptively, so the pain is less,” Huston said. “What is missing is any way to take a normal, healthy person who’s undergoing surgery to try and prevent bleeding ahead of time. That’s an enormous unmet need.”
