The positive:
Nerve 'Zap' Treatment May Speed Stroke Recovery Mar. 2017
Safety, Feasibility, and Efficacy of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Upper-Limb Rehabilitation After Ischemic Stroke Jan. 2016
Earlier research on this is here July, 2012;
and here Jan. 2013;
and here - Sept. 2013;
Researchers Find Early Success in New Treatment for Stroke Recovery
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The negative:
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Falls Short in Stroke Rehabilitation Mar. 2017
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Study Shows Parkinson’s Disease May Start in the Gut
April 26, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS,
Minn -- April 26, 2017 -- Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut and
spread to the brain via the vagus nerve, according to a study published
in the April 26, 2017, online issue of Neurology.
The preliminary study examined people who had resection surgery, removing the main trunk or branches of the vagus nerve. The researchers used national registers in Sweden to compare 9,430 people who had a vagotomy over a 40-year period with 377,200 people from the general population.
During that time, 101 people who had a vagotomy developed Parkinson’s disease (1.07%), compared with 4,829 people in the control group (1.28%). This difference was not statistically significant.
However, when researchers analysed the results for the 2 different types of vagotomy surgery, they found that people who had a truncal vagotomy at least 5 years earlier were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who had not had the surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years.
A total of 19 people who had truncal vagotomy at least 5 years earlier developed the disease (0.78%), compared with 932 people who had no surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years (1.15%). By contrast, 60% of patients who had selective vagotomy 5 years earlier developed Parkinson’s disease (1.08%).
After adjusting for factors such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other conditions, the researchers found that people who had a truncal vagotomy at least 5 years before were 40% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who had not had the surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years.
“These results provide preliminary evidence that Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut,” said Bojing Liu, Karolinska Instituet, Stockholm, Sweden. “Other evidence for this hypothesis is that people with Parkinson’s disease often have gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, that can start decades before they develop the disease. In addition, other studies have shown that people who will later develop Parkinson’s disease have a protein believed to play a key role in Parkinson’s disease in their gut.”
The theory is that these proteins can fold in the wrong way and spread that mistake from cell to cell.
“Much more research is needed to test this theory and to help us understand the role this may play in the development of Parkinson’s,” Liu said.
Additionally, since Parkinson’s is a syndrome, there may be multiple causes and pathways.
Even though the study was large, Liu said one limitation was small numbers in certain subgroups. Also, the researchers could not control for all potential factors that could affect the risk of Parkinson’s disease, such as smoking, coffee drinking or genetics.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology
The preliminary study examined people who had resection surgery, removing the main trunk or branches of the vagus nerve. The researchers used national registers in Sweden to compare 9,430 people who had a vagotomy over a 40-year period with 377,200 people from the general population.
During that time, 101 people who had a vagotomy developed Parkinson’s disease (1.07%), compared with 4,829 people in the control group (1.28%). This difference was not statistically significant.
However, when researchers analysed the results for the 2 different types of vagotomy surgery, they found that people who had a truncal vagotomy at least 5 years earlier were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who had not had the surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years.
A total of 19 people who had truncal vagotomy at least 5 years earlier developed the disease (0.78%), compared with 932 people who had no surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years (1.15%). By contrast, 60% of patients who had selective vagotomy 5 years earlier developed Parkinson’s disease (1.08%).
After adjusting for factors such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other conditions, the researchers found that people who had a truncal vagotomy at least 5 years before were 40% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who had not had the surgery and had been followed for at least 5 years.
“These results provide preliminary evidence that Parkinson’s disease may start in the gut,” said Bojing Liu, Karolinska Instituet, Stockholm, Sweden. “Other evidence for this hypothesis is that people with Parkinson’s disease often have gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, that can start decades before they develop the disease. In addition, other studies have shown that people who will later develop Parkinson’s disease have a protein believed to play a key role in Parkinson’s disease in their gut.”
The theory is that these proteins can fold in the wrong way and spread that mistake from cell to cell.
“Much more research is needed to test this theory and to help us understand the role this may play in the development of Parkinson’s,” Liu said.
Additionally, since Parkinson’s is a syndrome, there may be multiple causes and pathways.
Even though the study was large, Liu said one limitation was small numbers in certain subgroups. Also, the researchers could not control for all potential factors that could affect the risk of Parkinson’s disease, such as smoking, coffee drinking or genetics.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology
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