Can a tiny electric zap on your neck calm your body's inflammation?
Vagal Nerve Stimulation-Modulation of the Anti-Inflammatory Response and Clinical Outcome in Psoriatic Arthritis or Ankylosing Spondylitis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
TNF-alpha increased in PsA patients despite CRP dropping and symptoms improving.
TNF-alpha is the primary target of biologic drugs like Humira and Enbrel—so raising it while improving symptoms contradicts everything we thought we knew about inflammation pathways.
Practical Takeaways
Consider using a gammaCore device (FDA-cleared) for 120 seconds, 3x/day, as a complementary tool if you have PsA and are in remission but still feel residual inflammation.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
TNF-alpha increased in PsA patients despite CRP dropping and symptoms improving.
TNF-alpha is the primary target of biologic drugs like Humira and Enbrel—so raising it while improving symptoms contradicts everything we thought we knew about inflammation pathways.
Practical Takeaways
Consider using a gammaCore device (FDA-cleared) for 120 seconds, 3x/day, as a complementary tool if you have PsA and are in remission but still feel residual inflammation.
Publication
Journal
Mediators of Inflammation
Year
2021
Authors
C. Brock, S. E. Rasmussen, A. Drewes, H. Møller, B. Brock, B. Deleuran, A. Farmer, M. Pfeiffer-Jensen
Related Content
Claims (6)
Your vagus nerve is like a brake pedal for your body's stress response — when it's active, it calms down your immune system and reduces inflammation. If it's not working well, your body stays in high-alert mode and gets more inflamed.
For people with psoriatic arthritis who are feeling better, using a small device on the skin to stimulate a nerve in the neck for five days may help lower inflammation markers and improve how they feel, even if other common measures of arthritis don’t change.
A small device that sends gentle electrical pulses to a nerve in the neck for five days may change certain immune system chemicals in people with a type of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis, but it didn’t seem to make their pain or swelling better.
A non-invasive device that stimulates a nerve in the neck for five days was linked to a noticeable drop in heart rate in people with two types of inflammatory arthritis, which might mean the body’s natural calming system was activated.
A non-invasive device that stimulates a nerve in the neck made heart rate control improve in people with one type of arthritis but worsen in people with another type, after just five days of use.