Applications of vagal stimulation

Abstract

A method is provided for treating a subject, including applying a current to a site of the subject selected from the list consisting of: a vagus nerve of the subject, an epicardial fat pad of the subject, a pulmonary vein of the subject, a carotid artery of the subject, a carotid sinus of the subject, a vena cava vein of the subject, and an internal jugular vein of the subject. The method also includes configuring the current so as to treat a condition of the subject selected from the list consisting of: an autoimmune disease, an autoimmune inflammatory disease, multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, myelitis, immune-mediated neuropathy, myositis, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, inclusion body myositis, inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy, Guillain Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, inflammation of the nervous system, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, polyarteritis nodosa, Sjogren syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, glomerulonephritis, thyroid autoimmune disease, sepsis, meningitis, a bacterial infection, a viral infection, a fungal infection, sarcoidosis, hepatitis, and portal vein hypertension.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60 / 478,576, filed Jun. 13, 2003, entitled, “Applications of vagal stimulation,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and incorporated herein by reference.[0002] This application is related to a PCT patent application filed on even date herewith, entitled, “Applications of vagal stimulation,” which designates all states and is assigned to the assignee of the present patent application and incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates generally to treating patients by application of electrical signals to selected tissue, and specifically to methods and apparatus for stimulating tissue for treating patients suffering from conditions such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, or hypertension. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] The use of nerve stimulation for treating and controlling a va...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0101] In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for enhancing or sustaining the efficacy of drug treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) comprises administering a drug to a patient and applying signals to a vagus nerve that innervates the heart of the patient. The drug administered typically includes a sinus rhythm maintenance drug (i.e., an antiarrhythmic drug) or a ventricular rate control drug. The efficacy of the drug is typically enhanced or sustained by (a) configuring the signals so as to prevent electrical remodeling of the atria, which remodeling generally reduces drug effectiveness over time, and / or (b) configuring the signals so as to achieve a therapeutic benefit similar to that of the drug, which typically results in a synergistic effect between the therapeutic benefit of the drug and the vagal stimulation. For enhancing the effectiveness of antiarrhythmic drugs, the signals are typically configured to increase vagal tone, produce rhythmic vagal activity, and / or reduce the atrial effective refractory period (AERP). The effectiveness of ventricular rate control drugs is typically enhanced by applying vagal stimulation to control ventricular response rate and / or to improve cardiac output.

[0102] In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for enhancing or sustaining the efficacy of drug treatment for AF comprises administering a drug to the patient, applying signals to the vagus nerve, and configuring the signals to reduce the mechanical tension on at least one atrium of the subject. Such reduced mechanical tension generally reduces the risk of AF. For some applications, such vagal stimulation is applied without administering the drug.

[0103] In some embodiments of the present invention, the safety of a drug administered to the patient is improved by applying signals to the vagus nerve, and configuring the signals so as to prevent adverse effects sometimes caused by the drug, such as repolarization abnormalities (e.g., prolongation of the QT interval), bradycardia, and / or ventricular tachyarrhythmia (e.g., ventricular fibrillation). In some cases, the drug can safely be administered to patients who otherwise could not tolerate the drug because of such adverse effects. In addition, in some cases, adverse effects of the drug are prevented or diminished by allowing the use of lower dosages of the drug by enhancing or sustaining the efficacy of the drug, as described above.

Problems solved by technology

The efficacy of the drug is typically enhanced or sustained by (a) configuring the signals so as to prevent electrical remodeling of the atria, which remodeling generally reduces drug effectiveness over time, and / or (b) configuring the signals so as to achieve a therapeutic benefit similar to that of the drug, which typically results in a synergistic effect between the therapeutic benefit of the drug and the vagal stimulation.

The signals are configured so as to treat the heart failure, which typically results in a synergistic effect between the therapeutic benefit of the drug and the vagal stimulation.

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