Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
electroCore, Inc Basking Ridge, NJ, USA.
Neuromodulation. 2019 Jul;22(5):580-585. doi: 10.1111/ner.12879. Epub 2018 Oct 17.
OBJECTIVES: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) sufferers have rated chronic fatigue as the most important symptom needing improvement. Emerging data suggest that stimulation of the vagus nerve can modulate immunological responses. The gammaCore device (electroCore), developed to stimulate the cervical vagus nerve noninvasively, was used to assess the effects of vagus nerve activation on immune responses and clinical symptoms of pSS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen female pSS subjects used the nVNS device twice daily a 26-day period. At baseline, blood was drawn before and after application of the gammaCore device for 90 sec over each carotid artery. The following fatigue-related outcome measures were collected at baseline, day 7 and day 28: EULAR patient reported outcome index, profile of fatigue (Pro-F), visual analogue scale of abnormal fatigue, and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Whole blood samples were stimulated with 2 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the supernatant levels of IFNγ, IL12-p70, TNFα, MIP-1α, IFNα, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-6, and IP-10 were measured at 24 hours. In addition, clinical hematology and flow cytometric profiles of whole blood immune cells were analyzed. RESULTS: Pro-F and ESS scores were significantly reduced across all three visits. LPS-stimulated production of IL-6, IL-1β, IP-10, MIP-1α, and TNFα were significantly reduced over the study period. Patterns of NK- and T-cell subsets also altered significantly over the study period. Interestingly, lymphocyte counts at baseline visit correlated to the reduction in fatigue score. CONCLUSION: The vagus nerve may play a role in the regulation of fatigue and immune responses in pSS and nVNS may reduce clinical symptoms of fatigue and sleepiness. However, a sham-controlled follow-up study with a larger sample size is required to confirm the findings.
目的:原发性干燥综合征(pSS)患者将慢性疲劳评为最需要改善的重要症状。新出现的数据表明,刺激迷走神经可以调节免疫反应。开发用于非侵入性刺激颈迷走神经的 gammaCore 设备(electroCore),用于评估迷走神经激活对 pSS 的免疫反应和临床症状的影响。
材料和方法:15 名女性 pSS 受试者在 26 天的时间内每天使用 nVNS 设备两次。在基线时,在应用 gammaCore 设备 90 秒后,分别在每侧颈动脉上抽取血液。在基线、第 7 天和第 28 天收集以下与疲劳相关的结果测量指标:EULAR 患者报告的结局指标、疲劳概况(Pro-F)、异常疲劳的视觉模拟量表和 Epworth 嗜睡量表(ESS)。用 2ng/ml 脂多糖(LPS)刺激全血样本,在 24 小时时测量上清液中 IFNγ、IL12-p70、TNFα、MIP-1α、IFNα、IL-10、IL-1β、IL-6 和 IP-10 的水平。此外,分析全血免疫细胞的临床血液学和流式细胞术图谱。
结果:Pro-F 和 ESS 评分在所有三次就诊中均显著降低。LPS 刺激的 IL-6、IL-1β、IP-10、MIP-1α 和 TNFα的产生在整个研究期间显著降低。研究期间 NK 和 T 细胞亚群的模式也发生了显著变化。有趣的是,基线就诊时的淋巴细胞计数与疲劳评分的降低相关。
结论:迷走神经可能在 pSS 的疲劳和免疫反应调节中发挥作用,nVNS 可能会减轻疲劳和嗜睡的临床症状。然而,需要进行更大样本量的假对照随访研究来证实这些发现。
Clin Auton Res. 2025-5-10
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2025-2-1