Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27059884›Full record

ReviewThe Journal of physiology2016

Anti-inflammatory properties of the vagus nerve: potential therapeutic implications of vagus nerve stimulation.

Bruno Bonaz, Valérie Sinniger, Sonia Pellissier

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The Journal of physiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06321237 (Effect of Ear Vagus Nerve Stimulator on Symptom Improvement and Intestinal Microbiome in Patients With Irritable Bowel), which is not on this map. Cited by 281 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
281citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
18.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06321237 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Effect of Ear Vagus Nerve Stimulator on Symptom Improvement and Intestinal Microbiome in Patients With Irritable Bowel

TypeinterventionalSponsorHuaping XieRan2024 to 2024Enrolled40ConditionsIrritable Bowel SyndromeArmsVagus nerve stimulation for 8 weeks, Vagus nerve stimulation for the first 4 weeks, Vagus nerve stimulation for the last 4 weeks, Pseudostimulus
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

281 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 535 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Movement Disorders, from Principles to a Systematic Review of Evidence.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2025
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221 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Bruno BonazUniversity Clinic of Hepato-Gastroenterology, University Hospital, F-38000, Grenoble, France. bbonaz@chu-grenoble.fr.
Valérie SinnigerUniversity Clinic of Hepato-Gastroenterology, University Hospital, F-38000, Grenoble, France.
Sonia PellissierUniversity Clinic of Hepato-Gastroenterology, University Hospital, F-38000, Grenoble, France.
Université Grenoble Alpes · FRUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brain and viscera interplay within the autonomic nervous system where the vagus nerve (VN), containing approximately 80% afferent and 20% efferent fibres, plays multiple key roles in the homeostatic regulations of visceral functions. Recent data have suggested the anti-inflammatory role of the VN. This vagal function is mediated through several pathways, some of them still debated. The first one is the anti-inflammatory hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which is stimulated by vagal afferent fibres and leads to the release of cortisol by the adrenal glands. The second one, called the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, is mediated through vagal efferent fibres that synapse onto enteric neurons which release acetylcholine (ACh) at the synaptic junction with macrophages. ACh binds to α-7-nicotinic ACh receptors of those macrophages to inhibit the release of tumour necrosis (TNF)α, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. The last pathway is the splenic sympathetic anti-inflammatory pathway, where the VN stimulates the splenic sympathetic nerve. Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) released at the distal end of the splenic nerve links to the β2 adrenergic receptor of splenic lymphocytes that release ACh. Finally, ACh inhibits the release of TNFα by spleen macrophages through α-7-nicotinic ACh receptors. Understanding of these pathways is interesting from a therapeutic point of view, since they could be targeted in various ways to stimulate anti-inflammatory regulation in TNFα-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Among others, VN stimulation, either as an invasive or non-invasive procedure, is becoming increasingly frequent and several clinical trials are ongoing to evaluate the potential effectiveness of this therapy to alleviate chronic inflammation.

Indexed as

AcetylcholineAnimalsHumansHypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemInflammationPituitary-Adrenal SystemReceptors, NicotinicSpleenVagus NerveVagus Nerve StimulationAcetylcholineReceptors, Nicotinic

Identifiers

PMID27059884
PMCPMC5063949
OpenAlexW2313473114

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.