MILAN (ITALPRESS) – The autonomic nervous system is a key component of the nervous system that automatically controls many vital functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and respiration. It is composed of the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates our daytime activity, and in stressful situations the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxation and regeneration responses. The parasympathetic nervous system includes several nerves, including the vagus nerve. Imbalance between these two functions can contribute to the development or aggravation of numerous diseases, such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases. These are some of the topics discussed by Nicola Montano, director of the Complex Structure of Medicine, Immunology and Allergology at the Policlinico di Milano, full professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Milan, and president of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine, Simi, interviewed by Marco Klinger, for Medicina Top, a TV format of the Italpress news agency. “The relationship between the body and the brain has been talked about for a long time, the problem is that until about 30 years ago it was not very clear what it consisted of,” he began, “Now it is very clear that the autonomic nervous system, a part of the nervous system that links the brain structures to all the organs, is somewhat the interface that explains the relationship there is between the mind, emotions, stress and disease. The autonomic nervous system is in the middle and communicates bidirectionally with the body and brain, putting them in contact,” Montano explained. “Everything that happens in our brain is reverberated in the body, and everything that happens in the body is reverberated in the brain through the action of the autonomic nervous system, a pervasive system that innervates not only all the organs, but is also able to act on systems such as the immune system and inflammation. On the role of genetics: “Individual predisposition matters, but it is now clear that it only counts for 40 percent in the development of pathology; instead, 60 percent is related to everything we are exposed to,” the professor pointed out. “All the experiences we have from fetal life until death have an important effect on development, precisely because the conduit is the autonomic nervous system. A major study looked at 50,000 women with a high and low risk of developing breast cancer,” he pointed out, “Well, it was seen that those who were at high risk but had a healthy lifestyle, and therefore also a more balanced autonomic nervous system activity, developed cancers much less. Going into more detail, Montano reiterated the importance of keeping the two components of the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic or vagal system, in balance: “The autonomic nervous system is made up of two parts: the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system. The sympathetic system enables us to do any kind of physical or mental activity, without it we could not survive. On the other hand, just as in a car if you keep the accelerator pressed all the time, the engine jumps, we also have to use the brake, that is, the parasympathetic system, which induces sleep, lowers blood pressure and heart rate. They must therefore be in balance, an imbalance leads to disease,” the professor pointed out. “There is a great influence on the immune system, sympathetic activation, if we are very stressed, is associated with an increased release of adrenaline, which acts on the immune system and causes a lower reaction to infections. It is deleterious in chronic and helpful in acute, so we need to rebalance by activating the parasympathetic or vagal system. We talk about these issues and this connection between body and brain, to some extent, even from the Bible and then with Darwin, but what we’ve learned recently is how crucial this relationship is also in determining chronic disease.” And on tips for maintaining as much balance as possible between the two systems, “Physical activity, nutrition, and sleep-all of these activities are key to preventing an imbalance in this relationship. There is very strong evidence, otherwise the problem is the development of pathologies,” he reiterated. “Beta-blockers are extraordinary drugs but they have limited use; for some years now there have been devices such as the trans-auricular vagal stimulator, which are non-invasive and have very few side effects, which I must say are proving to be really effective,” Montano concluded. “The results are so encouraging that I believe within a few years we will have them available for treatment.
– photo taken from Top Medicine video -(ITALPRESS).
