Bioelectronics

Electronic Medicine Fights Disease

Stimulation of the nervous system could replace drugs for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions

Feb 17, 2015 |By Kevin J. Tracey

Bryan Christie

In Brief

• Exposure to heat, pressure, light or chemicals sets in motion a process to ensure that bodily organs do not overreact to these stresses.
• Nerve signals that link the brain and the rest of the body inhibit the making of immune molecules that cause inflammation.
• Electrical stimulation of neural pathways with an implanted medical device may assist the body in suppressing inflammation.
• Bioelectronic medicine is the name of the new discipline that uses electrical stimulation to treat inflammation and other disorders.

More In This Article

• 

  An Electrode in the Brain Turns Off Depression

• 

  An Electrical Off-Switch for Disease [Video]

I am a brain surgeon who is fascinated by inflammation. Along with my laboratory colleagues, I examine molecules that cause inflammation so that we can discover methods for alleviating the pain, swelling and tissue damage that is a consequence of many diseases.