Device Reduces Blood Pressure by Sending Signals to Brain

Researchers in Germany have created a device that reduces blood pressure by sending electrical signals to the brain.

According to University of Freiburg researchers, the device can lower blood pressure by 40 percent in rats without any side-effects. Their study is published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Some 67 million or 1 out of every 3 American adults has high blood pressure and about 36 million don't have it under control, according to data from Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) report .

A device for high blood pressure could help people who don't respond to medications for the condition.

"Our proof-of-concept interface has shown that it is possible to use the left vagal nerve to reduce blood pressure without any adverse side effects, which is important for a wide variety of potential treatments that could utilise nerve stimulation without actually penetrating the nerve," said Dr Dennis Plachta, lead author of the study.

The implantable device is around 2 cm long, with a 0.8 mm diameter. It has 24 electrodes attached to a micro machined cuff. The device is wrapped around a nerve called vagal nerve, which extends from the brainstem to the thorax and abdomen. The device works by using signals from baroreceptors that are activated when the blood vessels stretch.

In the study, researchers tested the efficacy of the instrument to lower blood pressure in rats. The device sent 40 pulses per second to the barorecptor fibers in the vagal nerve.

Researchers tested various frequencies and amplitude to detect the efficiency of the device. They found that the right amount of stimulation of the vagal nerve can reduce hypertension by as much as 60 percent of the original value.

The device is not for blood pressure patient.

"As the device will require surgery, it is not intended to be the first port of call for treatment and will come into play when patients, for whatever reasons, are resistant to medication. Nevertheless, the long-term goal is to provide 'treatment-on-demand' for the patient, whereby the implantable device uses an intelligent circuit to record the activity of the patient, for instance when they are doing exercise, and adjust the blood pressure accordingly," Plachta said in a news release.

In the next part of the study, researchers will test whether the device interferes with any medication.  They will also conduct experiments to see if it reduces blood pressure in pigs and sheep.