Google and GSK Linkup to Help Prevent & Treat Severe Asthma Attacks

Submitted by GAtherton on 1 August 2016

Patients with severe asthma tend to have attacks that necessitate hospital visits for emergency medication and most recover after intensive treatment to assist breathing, but around 1300 people in the UK and 3800 people in the US die from severe asthma attacks every year. Better treatment is needed to avoid those deaths.

It has been suspected for some time (there are published reports from the 1970’s) that electrostimulation of specific nerves can relieve some asthma symptoms and assist breathing and more recent work refines and supports that theory, demonstrating in a small number of patients that mild electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve and carotid artery that breathe volume was increased after 30 mins, evidence of the airways opening and thus making breathing easier.  The research team claim that this could be a drug free, safe addition to the treatment of severe asthma attacks that does not depend on there being an airflow to the patients lungs to apply.

Presumably based on this research the internet search engine company Google and UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are linking up to form a new company named Galvani Bioelectronics to develop bioelectric ‘medicines’ for the treatment of e.g. diabetes, epilepsy and asthma. Devices to stimulate nerves will be as small as a grain of rice and implanted under the skin close to nerves and will be entirely invisible but able to stimulate and moderate nerve signalling with a high degree of precision.

References

Electrostimulation of the diaphragm in the treatment of bronchial asthma Beda, E. Wiad Lek. 1970 Jan 15;23(2):89-95. Polish. 

Electrostimulation in the therapy of bronchial asthma. Karashurov SE, Gudovskiĭ LM, Semenova LI, Titova NIu, Anushkin SA, Mezhenin DA, Kosheleva LF, Shtan’ko SA, Larina NA, Berezin AS, Pozdnikina OIu.

Klin Med (Mosk). 2001;79(11):39-41. Russian.

Electrical Stimulation Eases Asthma Attack. Electrical Stimulation May Be a Safe Option for Treating Severe Asthma Flare-Ups By Kelli Miller WebMD Health News 2009 (accessed 1/08/2016)

Effect of vagal stimulation in acute asthma by Saif Eldeen Mehmed Abstracts from the 2nd International Severe Asthma Forum (ISAF) 2015 (accessed 1/08/2016)