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"Tickle" the ear with a low electric current seems
rebalancing the autonomic nervous system in people over 55, potentially slowing down
one of the effects of aging, according to new research.
Scientists have discovered that a short daily therapy administered for two
weeks have led to both physiological and well-being improvements, including a
better quality of life, mood and sleep.
The therapy, called transcutaneous stimulation of the vagus nerve,
provides a small, painless electric current to the ear, which sends
signals to the nervous system of the body by the vagus nerve.
The new research, conducted at the University of Leeds, suggests
therapy can slow down a significant effect badociated with aging.
This could help protect people from the chronic diseases we
become more prone to age, such as high blood pressure, heart disease
disease and atrial fibrillation. The researchers, who published their
findings today in the diary Aging, suggest that the "tickling"
the therapy has the potential to help people age more healthily, by
recalibrate the organization's internal control system.
Lead author Dr. Beatrice Bretherton, School of Biomedical
Science at the University of Leeds, said: "The ear is like a bridge
through which we can tinker with the metabolic balance of the body without
the need for medications or invasive procedures. We believe these results
are just the tip of the iceberg.
"We are delighted to further investigate the effects and
potential long-term benefits of daily stimulation of the ear, as we have seen
excellent response to treatment up to now. "
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Leeds and funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
The autonomic nervous system controls many body functions.
functions that do not require conscious thinking, such as digestion,
breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.
It contains two branches, the friendly and the
parasympathetic, who work against each other to maintain good health
balance of activity.
The friendly limb helps the body prepare for high intensity
"Fight or flight", while the parasympathetic is crucial to reduce
intensity "rest and digestion".
As you get older and fighting diseases, balance the body
changes such as the friendly branch begins to dominate. This
imbalance makes us more vulnerable to new diseases and leads to
breaking of healthy body function as we get older.
Clinicians have long been interested in the potential for use of
electric currents to influence the nervous system. The vagus nerve,
the major nerve of the parasympathetic system, has often been used to
electrical stimulation and previous research have examined the possibility
vagus nerve stimulation to fight against depression, epilepsy,
obesity, stroke, tinnitus and heart disease.
However, this type of stimulation requires surgery to implant
electrodes in the neck area, with badociated expense and small risk
side effects.
Fortunately, there is a small branch of the vagus nerve that
can be stimulated without surgery, located in the skin of specific parts
of the outer ear.
In Leeds, previous research has shown that the application of a small
electrical stimulus of the vagus nerve in the ear, what some people
perceive as a tickling sensation, improves the balance of the autonomous system
nervous system in healthy 30 years old.
Around the world, other researchers are currently studying whether this
Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (TNV) could provide therapy
for conditions ranging from heart problems to mental health.
Diane Crossley, 70, from Leeds, participated in the study and was
received tVNS treatment for two weeks. She said, "I was happy to be a
participating in this really interesting study he helped me with my
awareness of my own health.
"It was a fascinating project and I was proud to be part of it."
In their new study, scientists from the University of Leeds wanted
to see if tVNS could benefit over 55, who are more likely
to have unbalanced autonomous systems that could contribute to
health problems badociated with aging.
They recruited 29 healthy volunteers, aged 55 or older, and gave
each of them tVNS therapy for 15 minutes a day for two weeks
period. Participants learned to self-administer therapy at home
during the study.
The therapy resulted in an increase in parasympathetic activity and a
decrease in sympathetic activity, rebalancing of the autonomous function
to the one badociated with the healthy function. In addition, some people
reported improvements in mental health and sleep measures
models.
Being able to correct this balance of activity could help us grow old
healthier, while having the potential to help people with a
variety of disorders such as heart disease and some mental health issues
problems.
In addition, improving the balance of the autonomic nervous system
system reduces the risk of death of an individual, as well as the need for
medication or hospital visits.
The researchers found that the people who displayed the largest
imbalance at the beginning of the study was the most marked
improvements after receiving the therapy.
They suggest that in the future it may be possible to identify who is
more likely to benefit from the therapy, so it can be offered by a
targeted approach.
It has already been shown that tVNS treatment
psychological effects for patients with depression, and this study shows
it could also have significant physiological benefits.
Susan Deuchars, one of the lead authors of the study, said:
"We think this stimulation can make a big difference for people.
life, and we now hope to conduct further studies to see if tVNS
can benefit multiple disorders. "
Additional studies are now needed to understand what the long-term outlook is.
tVNS could have health effects because this study involved a small number
participants in a short period.
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