title: Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve protects against cerebral ischemic injury through an anti-infammatory mechanism.
abstract: Vagus nerve stimulation exerts protective effects against ischemic brain injury; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia was established using the occlusion method, and the right vagus nerve was given electrical stimulation (constant current of 0.5 mA; pulse width, 0.5 ms; frequency, 20 Hz; duration, 30 seconds; every 5 minutes for a total of 60 minutes) 30 minutes, 12 hours, and 1, 2, 3, 7 and 14 days after surgery. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve substantially reduced infarct volume, improved neurological function, and decreased the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in rats with focal cerebral ischemia. The experimental findings indicate that the neuroprotective effect of vagus nerve stimulation following cerebral ischemia may be associated with the inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yao-Xian
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Xin
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beijing Electric Power Hospit, Beijng, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Bao
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Hui
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: NSFC grants; cerebral ischemia; infarct volume; inflammatory cytokines; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neurological function; vagus nerve stimulation