Research Shows Brain is Involved in Autoimmune Disease
While no one would argue that a disease like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus is all in your brain, new research suggests that your brain could play a role in such diseases.
Work by Kevin Tracey, MD, of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has shown the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body’s inflammatory response. Understanding that intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases, such as RA and lupus, that are triggered by an abnormal inflammatory response.
Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve, which originates in the brain and extends down to the colon, speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. Stimulating the vagus nerve, he found, sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory markers.
Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain's acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response, which is involved in a wide range of problems including autoimmune diseases and Alzheimer’s. 10/26/07
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