Central activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway reduces surgical inflammation in experimental post-operative ileus KU Leuven
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve reduces intestinal inflammation following mechanical handling, thereby shortening post-operative ileus in mice. Previous studies in a sepsis model showed that this cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway can be activated pharmacologically by central administration of semapimod, an inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. We therefore evaluated the effect of ...