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EP-3259017-B1 - DEVICE FOR NERVE STIMULATION FOR TREATMENT OF DISEASES AND DISORDERS

EP3259017B1EP 3259017 B1EP3259017 B1EP 3259017B1EP-3259017-B1

Inventors

  • TRACEY, KEVIN, J.
  • CHAVAN, SANGEETA, S.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20160219

Claims (13)

  1. An electrical device configured for producing a corrective stimulus pattern suitable for treating a subject having a disease or disorder, the device comprising implantable electrodes, wherein the device is configured to receive a disease-specific, condition-specific, endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram, and to generate a corrective stimulus pattern in said implantable electrodes extracted from said disease-specific, condition-specific, endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram, the pattern being effective to treat the disease or disorder, characterized in that said disease-specific, condition-specific, endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram is received from a subject different from the subject being treated with said corrective stimulus pattern.
  2. The device of claim 1, comprising a data acquisition system to digitize electrophysiological signals.
  3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to apply said corrective stimulus pattern to a parasympathetic nerve, a sympathetic nerve, a cranial nerve, or a somatic nerve of said subject.
  4. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to apply said corrective stimulus pattern to the vagus nerve, splenic nerve, splanchnic nerve, sciatic nerve, or a nerve of a specific organ or portion of an organ of said subject.
  5. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a disease-specific, condition-specific, endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram obtained using an animal model of the disease or disorder, or from a human patient.
  6. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a neurogram obtained in response to administration of physiologically occurring substance to a subject.
  7. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a neurogram obtained in response to administration of a cytokine or administration of glucagon, glucose or insulin to the subject.
  8. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a cytokine-specific neurogram recorded from the vagus nerve.
  9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a hypoglycemic-specific, insulin-specific or cortisol-specific neurogram recorded from a vagus nerve.
  10. The device of claim 9, wherein the device is configured to receive a hypoglycemic-specific neurogram recorded from a vagus nerve of a subject following administration of insulin or cortisol to the subject.
  11. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to receive a hyperglycemic-specific or glucose-specific neurogram recorded from a vagus nerve.
  12. The device of claim 11, wherein the device is configured to receive a hyperglycemic-specific neurogram recorded from a vagus nerve of a subject following administration of glucose to the subject.
  13. The device of claim 1 for producing a corrective energy stimulus pattern for treating a subject having inflammation wherein the neurogram is an anti-inflammatory cytokine-specific or cortisol-specific or dexamethasone-specific neurogram recorded from a vagus nerve.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Throughout this application various publications are referred to in parentheses. Full citations for these references may be found at the end of the specification. The nervous system developed over evolutionary time to optimize survival in response to signals from the internal and external environment. In mammals, chemical, mechanical, and electromagnetic signals are sensed by neurons, which propagate action potentials to the central nervous system (CNS). These comprise the afferent arcs of reflex circuits that maintain the body's homeostasis. This fundamental principle of sensing environmental changes in order to mount appropriate reflex responses is central to the physiological mechanisms that allow for not only homeostasis but adaptability and species survival. Thirty years ago, it was discovered that products of the immune system, including cytokines and other mediators, could be sensed by the nervous system, prompting the suggestion that the immune system could serve as a functional sensory modality (1). In this context, foreign invaders, microbial products, and other exogenous immune stimulators culminate in the release of cytokines. These immune products can in turn interact with the peripheral nervous system and the CNS to elicit neurophysiological responses; however, the question remains whether the sensory neural signals are encoded in cytokine-specific patterns. There has been an expanding body of knowledge delineating the extensive interface between the nervous and immune systems. Similar to the neural control of the body's general physiological and metabolic states, systemic inflammatory pathways can be modulated by the CNS, with the archetypal pathway being the inflammatory reflex of the vagus nerve (VN) (2). In its efferent arc, electrical signals move down the vagus nerve to the celiac ganglion from which the splenic nerve further propagates the signal towards the spleen. Within the spleen, a specialized subset of T lymphocytes completes the link between the nervous and immune systems (3, 4). Acetylcholine, which is released by these T cells, down-regulates cytokine production by resident macrophage populations thereby producing a systemic anti-inflammatory effect (3). In contrast to the well-mapped motor arc, the afferent arc remains incompletely understood. Notably, the vagus nerve is primarily sensory, such that numerous afferent signals regarding physiological status travel the vagus nerve from the periphery into the CNS. Oftentimes neglected is the notion that these signals might include the inflammatory status of the animal. The pioneering work by Niijima and collaborators (5-7) led them to postulate that IL-1β might activate peripheral afferents of the vagus nerve that would signal to the CNS about the presence of this cytokine. Physiological studies have shown that an intact vagus nerve is required for a pyrexia response to intra-abdominal IL-1β administration, further corroborating the notion that the vagus nerve might be a primary peripheral inflammation sensor for the CNS (8, 9). Parallel studies in isolated sensory neurons show that neurons express a variety of cytokine receptors, such as the TNF and IL-1β receptors, and are able to change their activation thresholds when exposed to the corresponding exogenous cytokines (10-12). In combination, these studies suggest that the vagus nerve is an important substrate for a peripheral neural network capable of capturing real-time signals pertaining to changes in peripheral inflammatory and immune states. The present disclosure addresses the need for improved methods for treating diseases and disorders, in particular methods that do not require administration of drugs to a subject. The methods disclosed herein use a stimulus pattern derived from a disease-specific or condition-specific or endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram to produce a stimulus pattern that is applied to a nerve such as the vagus nerve to treat the disease or disorder. Document US-A-2009/254143 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is defined in claim 1. The present disclosure provides methods, which are not part of the invention, for treating a subject having a disease or disorder comprising stimulating a nerve of the subject with a corrective stimulus pattern derived from a disease-specific or condition-specific or endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific neurogram in an amount and manner effective to treat the disease or disorder. As an example, the disclosure provides methods for treating a subject having inflammation, hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia comprising electrically stimulating a cervical vagus nerve of the subject with a corrective stimulus pattern derived from a disease-specific or condition-specific or endogenous mediator-specific or pharmacologic agent-specific vagus nerve neuro