DieCombating high blood pressurethrough bioelectric stimulation is the subject of a new study in which scientists wanted to investigate arterial hypertension. The results show that electrical impulses applied to a specific branch of the vagus nerve can reduce complications in the future. This was revealed by research on animal models carried out by the Translational Medicine Department of IRCCS Neuromed in Italy.
Activate immune system against arterial hypertension
The research is based on the role that the immune system plays in the onset and development of high blood pressure. The spleen is the main character. There, certain immune cells, T lymphocytes, are activated and then released into the blood. These migrate to the organs typically affected by high blood pressure (target organs). On the one hand, they contribute to the etiology of the hypertensive state, on the other hand, they cause the well-known associated damages. As already shown from previous observations from the same department, such an activation process is the result of an interaction between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems at the level of the celiac vagus nerve and the spleen. First, in this study, researchers observed that angiotensin II, a hormone involved in the control of blood pressure, is able to increase nerve impulses that stimulate T-lymphocyte activation in the spleen via the celiac vagus nerve .
However, the science team was also able to achieve the same effect. The researchers did this by applying electrical impulses at a specific frequency and amplitude to the same nerve. In other words, bioelectric intervention can modulate the activation of lymphocytes in the spleen. However, this is still a first step. This shows researchers the possibility of intervening electronically without medication on some fundamental mechanisms and on arterial hypertension. In the near future, the authors of the study want to identify specific stimulation techniques that can therapeutically influence immune system activity. Arterial hypertension is a major public health problem affecting approximately one billion people worldwide. Unfortunately, optimal control of blood pressure is often not achieved through therapy.This research, which of course needs further studies to find clinical applications, shows the possibility of developing brand new, non-pharmacological therapies that could help large numbers of patients.
