Nerve stimulation may be sepsis treatment

MANHASSET, N.Y., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher said he believes stimulation of the body's vagus nerve can treat sepsis, a life-threatening inflammation infection.

Dr. Kevin Tracey of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y., discovered the vagus nerve that originates in the brain stem communicates with the body's immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. He also found stimulating the vagus nerve halts production of chemicals that cause inflammation.

Tracey concluded vagus nerve stimulation could stop the abnormal immune system responses that lead to sepsis -- a malady that kills 215,000 people annually in the United States. The condition occurs when the body's immune system triggers an overwhelming inflammatory response to infection. The inflammation, in turn, causes fatal damage to the body's organs.

Tracey presented the latest findings of his ongoing clinical research Wednesday during a lecture at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.