Vagus nerve stimulation and Neurotrophins: a biological psychiatric perspective

Rosso, Pamela; Iannitelli, Angela; Pacitti, Francesca; Quartini, Adele; Fico, Elena; Fiore, M.; Greco, Antonio; Ralli, Massimo; Tirassa, Paola

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.03.034

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 227 publications

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“…Targeting plasticity with VNS to renormalize aberrant neural circuits and restore normal function is also of interest (Hays et al 2013 ). A vagus nerve-neurotrophin interaction model in the brain has been recently proposed supporting a putative role of Nerve Growth Factor and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the mechanism of action of VNS to modulate brain activities (Rosso et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?

2020

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), at the origin of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, is characterized by a dramatic cytokine storm in some critical patients with COVID-19. This storm is due to the release of high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1 β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and chemokines by respiratory epithelial and dendritic cells, and macrophages. We hypothesize that this cytokine storm and the worsening of patients' health status can be dampened or even prevented by specifically targeting the vagal-driven cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP). The CAP is a concept that involves an antiinflammatory effect of vagal efferents by the release of acetylcholine (ACh). Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha7 subunit (α7nAChRs) is required for ACh inhibition of macrophage-TNF release and cytokine modulation. Hence, targeting the α7nAChRs through vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) could be of interest in the management of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indeed, through the wide innervation of the organism by the vagus nerve, especially the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, VNS appears as a serious candidate for a few side effect treatment that could dampen or prevent the cytokine storm observed in COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. Finally, a continuous vagal tone monitoring in patients with COVID-19 could be used as a predictive marker of COVID-19 illness course but also as a predictive marker of response to COVID-19 treatment such as VNS or others.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?

2020

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“…To date, VNS has been implanted in at least 1,00,000 patients worldwide ( 20 , 70 ). In addition to DRE, VNS has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of refractory depression, migraine ( 15 , 71 , 72 ), and other central nervous system diseases, such as schizophrenia, addiction, Parkinson's disease ( 73 – 75 ), and non-psychiatric diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma ( 76 – 78 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Up to What Extent Does Dravet Syndrome Benefit From Neurostimulation Techniques?

Ding

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Neurol.

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BackgroundDravet syndrome (DS) is a refractory developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (EE) with a variety of comorbidities, including cognitive impairment, autism-like behavior, speech dysfunction, and ataxia, which can seriously affect the quality of life of patients and impose a great burden on society and their families. Currently, the pharmacological therapy is patient dependent and may work or not. Neuromodulation techniques, including vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), responsive neurostimulation (RNS), and chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation (CSCS), have become common adjuvant therapies for neurological diseases, but their efficacy in the treatment of DS is unknown.MethodsWe searched Web of Science, PubMed, and SpringerLink for all published cases related to the neuromodulation techniques of DS until January 15, 2022. The systematic review was supplemented with relevant articles from the references. The results reported by each study were summarized narratively.ResultsThe Web of science, PubMed and SpringerLink search yielded 258 items. A total of 16 studies published between 2016 and 2021 met the final inclusion criteria. Overall, 16 articles (109 cases) were included in this study, among which fifteen (107 patients) were involved VNS, and one (2 patients) was involved DBS. After VNS implantation, seizures were reduced to ≥50% in 60 cases (56%), seizure free were found in 8 cases (7.5%). Only two DS patients received DBS treatment, and the initial outcomes of DBS implantation were unsatisfactory. The seizures significantly improved over time for both DBS patients after the addition of antiepileptic drugs.ConclusionMore than half of the DS patients benefited from VNS, and VNS may be effective in the treatment of DS. However, it is important to note that VNS does not guarantee improvement of seizures, and there is a risk of infection and subsequent device failure. Although DBS is a safe and effective strategy for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, the role of DBS in DS needs further study, as the sample size was small. Thus far, there is no strong evidence for the role of DBS in DS.

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“…As mentioned above, an NGF-induced neuroprotective effect on cortical neurons might also explain the increase of TrkB, and in turn the recovery of the BDNF/TrkB mediated unbalance of glutamate/GABA in ONC VCx [ 5 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF), as well as its family-related brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are considered fundamental during the development of the nervous system and to maintaining the functional integrity of the nervous tissue in adults. Neurotrophins, by interacting with their tyrosinchinase selective receptors (TrkA and TrkB), regulate the survival of mature and precursor neuronal cells, modulate the neuronal activity, and contribute to the structural and functional recovery after injury or diseases [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. As part of the nervous system, the retina and the primary visual areas are also neurotrophin targets [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

NGF Eye Administration Recovers the TrkB and Glutamate/GABA Marker Deficit in the Adult Visual Cortex Following Optic Nerve Crush

Rosso

Fico

Mesentier-Louro

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Eye-drop recombinant human nerve growth factor (ed-rhNGF) has proved to recover the retina and optic nerve damage in animal models, including the unilateral optic nerve crush (ONC), and to improve visual acuity in humans. These data, associated with evidence that ed-rhNGF stimulates the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in retina and cortex, suggests that NGF might exert retino-fugal effects by affecting BDNF and its receptor TrkB. To address these questions, their expression and relationship with the GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission markers, GAD65 and GAD67, vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter (VGAT), and vesicular glutamate transporters 1 and 2 (VGLUT-1 and VGLUT-2) were investigated in adult ONC rats contralateral and ipsilateral visual cortex (VCx). Ed-rhNGF recovers the ONC-induced alteration of GABAergic and glutamatergic markers in contralateral VCx, induces an upregulation of TrkB, which is positively correlated with BDNF precursor (proBDNF) decrease in both VCx sides, and strongly enhances TrkB+ cell soma and neuronal endings surrounded by GAD65 immuno-reactive afferents. These findings contribute to enlarging the knowledge on the mechanism of actions and cellular targets of exogenously administrated NGF, and suggest that ed-rhNGF might act by potentiating the activity-dependent TrkB expression in GAD+ cells in VCx following retina damage and/or ONC.

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Vagus nerve stimulation and Neurotrophins: a biological psychiatric perspective

Cited by 21 publications

References 227 publications

Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?

Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?

Up to What Extent Does Dravet Syndrome Benefit From Neurostimulation Techniques?

NGF Eye Administration Recovers the TrkB and Glutamate/GABA Marker Deficit in the Adult Visual Cortex Following Optic Nerve Crush

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