The way to the brain is through the nose!
At the very top of the nasal cavity there are nerves that form a kind of back door to the inside of the brain. This is used by INMEST to affect parts of the brain that are otherwise difficult to access. By stimulating these nerves we can affect the brain from the outside!
The body does most things automatically
The heart, breathing and the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract – most things in the body that are not controlled by will are controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, it is not surprising that disorders of the autonomic nervous system can cause a variety of symptoms.
The brain’s hypothalamus is a kind of control center for the balance of the autonomic nervous system. It in turn consists of a sympathetic and a parasympathetic part, both of which go to the heart, blood vessels, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and glands, among other things. The parasympathetic and sympathetic branches have opposing effects on these organs. Imbalance between the parts of the autonomic nervous system, dysautonomia, can lead to tissue damage and symptoms of disease.
For a long time, it has been difficult to treat such disturbances. Nowadays, it is possible to activate the parasympathetic nervous system by surgically inserting an electrical stimulator on the vagus nerve (which contains mainly parasympathetic nerve fibers), which has been shown to be effective in epilepsy, depression and rheumatoid arthritis. Another approach is to use electrical stimulation at the outer ear to activate the parasympathetic system via nerve fibers that run there.
INMEST is a simple yet brilliant solution to the problem of powerfully stimulating the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system without surgery or serious side effects. And the secret is in the nose! At the top of the nose there is a cluster of nerves that literally live next door to the parts of the brain that regulate the autonomic nervous system. INMEST uses that connection as a kind of back door to the brain.
INMEST does not replace the treatments with mainly drugs that are used today. But it can be an important complement for all those who do not achieve a satisfactory effect from their current treatment.
The method is currently patented in the USA, Europe/EU and China, among other countries.
That’s how it’s done
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The treatment itself is quite undramatic and is done with a small device, slightly larger than an electric toothbrush.
The device contains a battery-powered pump, which pumps air into a narrow tube.
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At the end of the tube there is a small closed probe, which is made of thin plastic.
The patient starts the device and inserts the probe into the nose, so that it rests against the nerve cluster at the top of the nasal cavity.
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Thereafter, the patient turns on the treatment mode. The probe is then filled with air.
By raising and lowering the air pressure, the device causes the probe to pulsate at a high frequency.
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The resulting vibrations stimulate the nerve endings in the nasal cavity – which in turn stimulate the autonomic nervous system.
The treatment takes a total of 20 minutes (10 minutes per nasal cavity) and is performed three times per week.
Focus areas now and in the future
Eye diseases
There are two main reasons why eye diseases are a high priority for the foundation. The main one is that so many people are affected. Even if we only count dry eyes, the number of people affected in Sweden is in the hundreds of thousands. In addition to this, there are all the other diseases and disorders that can affect the eyes.
The second reason is that eyes are relatively easy to study. Studies on eye diseases are therefore a good way to increase the scientific support for INMEST, which is a prerequisite for the method to be successful.
We have already conducted a pilot study on dry eyes. Abilion Medical Systems AB, the company behind INMEST, has since conducted another study, which the foundation partly funded, on patients suffering from dry eyes. A contributing cause of the disease is likely dysfunction of the parasympathetic nerves that control the lacrimal glands.
The results of the study are promising, and a multicenter study is currently underway that will hopefully confirm the results from the pilot study. This could be a milestone in establishing INMEST as a treatment modality, as dry eyes affect between 10–15 % of all adults.
The brain and central nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is controlled from the brain, so it is natural that we want to study how INMEST affects diseases in the nervous system. A study on radiation-induced brain injury in children with brain tumors has already been completed.
Alexander Juto is currently working on exploring the degree of autonomic dysfunction in different organs in patients with ALS. An important goal is to conduct a clinical study to evaluate INMEST as a treatment for autonomic dysfunction in ALS.
Discussions are ongoing within the foundation about which additional areas and diseases should be prioritized in further work.
Read more about the ALS studies
New planned studies
Within the foundation, discussions are ongoing about which additional areas and diseases to prioritize going forward. Currently, a study on atopic dermatitis (eczema) is being planned, targeting a large group of patients who do not get sufficient relief from existing treatments and do not qualify for biologic therapies. If our clinical observations are correct, INMEST could provide significant help for these patients.
The autonomic systems’ two parts
Sympathetic system
As mentioned, the autonomic system consists of two parts, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
The sympathetic branch has to do with stress and exertion. It gets us ready for physical exertion, including by raising blood pressure and releasing adrenaline. Evolutionarily speaking, it is linked to “fight or flight”, but it is not only when we get angry or scared that we benefit from it. Athletes standing at the starting line jumping in place, snorting and huffing and perhaps hitting their face or thighs are doing their best to stimulate the sympathetic system.
Parasympathetic system
However, the part of the autonomic system that is primarily stimulated by INMEST is the parasympathetic branch. It is the part that is associated with rest.
The parasympathetic system is normally most active when we sleep. Then the heart rate drops and breathing becomes calmer. The level of stress hormones in the body drops, while the levels of the feel-good hormone oxytocin rise. The digestive system is stimulated and the body’s various healing and recovery processes function at their best.
Hypothalamus and the vagus nerve
The balance between the two parts of the autonomic nervous system is controlled by the hypothalamus. This occurs with signals that, via the so-called vagal nuclei in the brainstem, go from the hypothalamus to the vagus nerves. These in turn go to the body’s internal organs, including the heart and spleen.
A treatment with INMEST affects this system, demonstrated by the fact that we see parasympathetic reactions in large parts of the body.
Our experience is that the immediate effect of INMEST is parasympathetic activation in the form of reduced blood pressure and heart rate, and calmer breathing. Even more interesting, however, are the long-term effects that occur with repeated treatment. Among other things, it is possible to see an effect on regulatory T cells, a type of immune cells whose task is, among other things, to turn off immune reactions after an infection has been fought.
Simply put, this effect causes the immune system to “calm down”. We have seen that INMEST has anti-inflammatory effects and that it reduces autoimmune inflammation, which has also been seen in connection with other treatments that stimulate the vagus nerve with electrical impulses. We therefore believe that INMEST has positive effects on a number of diseases that in various ways involve an overactive immune system.
