Treatment of Stage 3 COVID-19 With Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Drastically Reduces Interleukin-6 Blood Levels: A Report on Two Cases

Boezaart, André P.; Botha, Daniel A

doi:10.1111/ner.13293

Cited by 29 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Staas et al reported the first successful outcome of two COVID-19 patients treated with VNS [36]. This encouraging results were confirmed in an independent case report study with two patients using transcutaneous auricular VNS [37]. At present there are 5 registered clinical trials evaluating the benefit of VNS in hospitalized COVID-19 patient (Table 1).…”

Section: Rationale and Experimental Support For The Use Of Vns "Early Adjuvant Therapy In Covid-19 Patients"mentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The rationale for this assumption is supported by the fact that when COVID-19 patients are admitted in the ICU they already have elevated levels of IL-6 that could have been suppressed by vagal maneuvers at home or in outpatient offices. Indeed, it was recently demonstrated that VNS reduced the blood levels of IL-6 in COVID-19 patients [37]. In addition, patients can be quickly trained to perform some form of less risky and less complicated vagal maneuver such as the diving response.…”

Section: Rationale For the Potential Benefit Of Vns And Vagal Maneuvers At Earlier Stages Of The Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vagal Maneuvers as Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

Sendin¹,

Yakisich

2021

SciMed. J.

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At present there is no effective specific antiviral drug to treat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has already infected millions of individual and caused hundreds of thousand deaths worldwide. There is strong indication that a cytokine storm is responsible for the severity of COVID-19 patients. Pilot studies using IL-6 receptor inhibitors such as Tolicizumab have shown promising results. However, since the cytokine storm is a complex systemic inflammatory response involving multiple cytokines it can be hypothesized that a “paninhibition” of cytokines and/or cytokine receptors will be more effective. However, at the same time this strategy may cause more adverse effects. In this article, we propose the application of Vagus Nerve Stimulation (NVS) and/or some forms of vagal maneuvers as adjuvant therapies to prevent and/or mitigate the cytokine response in COVID-19 patients. This proposal is based on the ability of NVS and to decrease the production of IL-6 and other cytokines. The potential application of the diving response (one form of vagal maneuver), that has been shown to confer intrinsic resistance to inflammation in the blood of diving mammals, is also discussed as adjuvant therapy for COVID-19 patients. Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2021-03-SI-2 Full Text: PDF

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Section: Rationale and Experimental Support For The Use Of Vns "Early Adjuvant Therapy In Covid-19 Patients"mentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Rationale For the Potential Benefit Of Vns And Vagal Maneuvers At Earlier Stages Of The Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vagal Maneuvers as Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

Sendin¹,

Yakisich

2021

SciMed. J.

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“… Boezaart, 2020. 34 Case report/ Two COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital 1 60 Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation / NA Interleukin‐6 Blood Levels After one week of treatment, his IL-6 dropped from 44.1 pg/mL to 7.8 pg/mL. No adverse events report The conchae of both ears were stimulated with a proprietary waveform, with the anode in one ear and the cathode in the other ear.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current state of research about acupuncture for the treatment of COVID-19: A scoping review

Chen¹,

Zhan²,

Wen³

et al. 2021

Integrative Medicine Research

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“…However, less-invasive transcutaneous auricular VNS is being developed. Although more extensive clinical studies are ongoing, case studies have indicated possible benefits in reducing plasma IL-6 levels when using these devices[ 151 ]. Alternatively, α7nAChR agonists or acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have been proposed to reduce systemic inflammation[ 152 , 153 ].…”

Section: Nicotine Receptors Possible Therapeutic Targets For Limiting Sars-cov-2 Damage In the Gut And Brainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapeutic implications of SARS-CoV-2 dysregulation of the gut-brain-lung axis

Johnson

Olwenyi

Bhyravbhatla

et al. 2021

WJG

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The emergence and rapid spread of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 180 million confirmed cases resulting in over 4 million deaths worldwide with no clear end in sight for the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Most SARS-CoV-2 exposed individuals experience mild to moderate symptoms, including fever, cough, fatigue, and loss of smell and taste. However, many individuals develop pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and multiorgan dysfunction. In addition to these primarily respiratory symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 can also infiltrate the central nervous system, which may damage the blood-brain barrier and the neuron's synapses. Resultant inflammation and neurodegeneration in the brain stem can further prevent efferent signaling to cranial nerves, leading to the loss of anti-inflammatory signaling and normal respiratory and gastrointestinal functions. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 can infect enterocytes resulting in gut damage followed by microbial dysbiosis and translocation of bacteria and their byproducts across the damaged epithelial barrier. As a result, this exacerbates pro-inflammatory responses both locally and systemically, resulting in impaired clinical outcomes. Recent evidence has highlighted the complex interactions that mutually modulate respiratory, neurological, and gastrointestinal function. In this review, we discuss the ways SARS-CoV-2 potentially disrupts the gut-brain-lung axis. We further highlight targeting specific responses to SARS-CoV-2 for the development of novel, urgently needed therapeutic interventions. Finally, we propose a prospective related to the individuals from Low- and Middle-Income countries. Here, the underlying propensity for heightened gut damage/microbial translocation is likely to result in worse clinical outcomes during this COVID-19 pandemic.

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Treatment of Stage 3 COVID-19 With Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Drastically Reduces Interleukin-6 Blood Levels: A Report on Two Cases

Cited by 29 publications

References 5 publications

Use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vagal Maneuvers as Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

Use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Vagal Maneuvers as Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

Current state of research about acupuncture for the treatment of COVID-19: A scoping review

Therapeutic implications of SARS-CoV-2 dysregulation of the gut-brain-lung axis

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