Vagus nerve stimulation

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may be used for adult patients with treatment-resistant depression. A pulse generator is surgically implanted under the skin of the left chest, and an electrical lead connects the generator to the left vagus nerve. Stimulation of this nerve sends signals to the brain. This therapy is intended to be used along with traditional therapies, such as pharmacotherapy and ECT.20... 

Figure 7.2 Glucose regulation by insulin. Increased concentrations of glucose and amino acids in the circulation, vagus nerve stimulation and circulating hormones e.g. GLP) stimulate insulin secretion by 3-cells of the pancreatic islets. Insulin suppresses glucose production by the liver and increases glucose uptake by skeletal muscle and fat, leading to decreased circulating glucose concentrations.

Within 15 years, stopwatch-sized Vagus Nerve Stimulators (VNSs) will be prevalent as a means of making us feel happier. (Temple University s Jake Zabara showed over a decade ago that the VNS can... 

Other promising, investigational, nondrug forms of somatic therapy for affective disorders include transcranial stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation. These treatments are also discussed in Chapter 8. 

The vagus nerve terminates in the nucleus of the solitary tract with widespread projections, including the locus ceruleus. There are several lines of evidence that support the potential efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for depression, including the following ... 

Ben-Menachem E Vagus-nerve stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy. The Lancet-Neurology 2002 1 477. 

Buchhalter JR, Jarrar RG. Therapeutics in pediatric epilepsy, part 2 epilepsy surgery and vagus nerve stimulation. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003 78 371-378. 

Borovikova LV, Ivanova S, Zhang M, Yang H, Botchkina GI, Watkins LR, Wang H, Abumrad N, Eaton JW, Tracey KJ (2000) Vagus nerve stimulation attenuates the systemic inflammatory response to endotoxin. Nature 405(6785) 458-462... 

Conway, C., Sheline, Y., Chibnall, J., George, M., Fletcher, J., Mintun, M. (2006). Cerebral blood flow changes during vagus nerve stimulation for depression. Psychiatry Research, 146, 179—184. 

George, M., Sackeim, H., Rush, A., Marangell, L., Nahas, Z., Husain, M., et al. (2000). Vagus nerve stimulation A new tool for brain research and therapy. Biological Psychiatry, 47, 287-295. 

Henry, T., Bakay, R., Pennell, P., Epstein, C., Votaw, J. (2004). Brain blood-flow alterations induced by therapeutic vagus nerve stimulation in partial epilepsy II. Prolonged effects at high and low levels of stimulation. Epilepsia, 45, 1064-1070. 

Borovikova, L.V., Ivanova, S., Zhang, M., Yang, H., Botchkina, G.I., Watkins, L.R., Wang, H., Abumrad, N., Eaton, J.W., Tracey, K.J. (2000b). Vagus nerve stimulation attenuates the systemic inflammatory response to endotoxin. Nature 405 458-62. Brandeis, R., Raveh, L., Grunwald, J., Cohen, E., Ashani, Y. (1993). Prevention of soman-induced cognitive deficits by pretreatment with human butyrylcholinesterase in rats. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 46 889-96. 

FUNCTION Activates secretion of gastric acid, pepsin, and intrinsic factor (the vagus nerve stimulates gastrin release). 

A 31-year-old man developed ocnlogjric crises after starting to take oxcarbazepine, and the freqnency of these episodes correlated with the dosage of the dmg (11). Similar episodes had occnrred in the past after exposure to carbamazepine. The implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator led to the disappearance of the oculogyric crises. 

The stomach secretes hydrochloric acid under the influences of vagus nerve stimulation, gastrin and histamine. Histamine is the most potent stimulus of gastric acid secretion in some animal species studied, such as the horse (Kitchen et al 1998a). Histamine is released by mast cells and enterochromaffin-like cells that are immediately adjacent to the parietal cells. Histamine interacts with two distinct subsets of histamine H2 receptors on the parietal cell membrane, initiating a series of reactions that result in the phosphorylation of protein kinases and increased intracellular calcium within the parietal cell. This, in turn, results in transformation and translocation of the... 

Wheless J. Vagus nerve stimulation. In Wylhe E, ed. The Treatment of Epilepsy, 3d ed. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 2001 1007-1015. 

Ghacibeh GA, Shenker JI, Shenal B, Uthman BM, Heilman KM (2006) Effect of vagus nerve stimulation on creativity and cognitive flexibility. Epilepsy Behav 8 720-725. 

Gastrin Enteroendocrine G cells of the stomach, duodenal bulb, and other cells Induces gastric acid secretion 1. Luminal contents, especially aromatic amino acids, calcium, coffee, and ethanol 2. Vagus nerve stimulation activation of beta-adrenergic and GABA neurons 3. Somatostatin inhibits secretion... 

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