Study identifies new neural pathway for treating lung inflammation

Researchers studied the auricular branch of the vagus nerve, the only part of the nerve that reaches the surface of the skin. During experiments, they stimulated this branch in laboratory mice suffering from allergic inflammation of the airways.

The researchers found that the stimulation increased levels of the signaling molecule CGRPβ in the airways, significantly reducing lung inflammation. By contrast, suppressing the activity of the nerve fibers led to more severe disease and intensified inflammation.

According to the researchers, the findings provide the first evidence of a neural mechanism linking the skin of the outer ear to immune processes in the lungs. This discovery could pave the way for the development of bioelectronic therapies for inflammatory diseases, offering an alternative to conventional drug-based treatments.

Although the findings are so far limited to animal studies, scientists are already working on designing a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a specialized device that stimulates the auricular nerve in human asthma patients.

A separate study by Brazilian researchers has also found that acupuncture applied to the ear may help reduce the severity of pain caused by chronic migraine and lessen its negative impact on patients’ daily lives.